The writer’s strike is over, and all I can say is… thank you Lord! As a result, the major networks have started to release press releases detailing what to expect over the last couple of months. Many people feared that TV shows would be done for the season, but apparently the networks were more worried… As a result, many TV shows are returning this spring. The good news is that Lost, which was originally scheduled for only eight episodes, will now air 13 episodes (albeit with a break in March). The bad news is that Heroes will not return until the fall.
NBC:
Medium (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET), Continues current run
My Name Is Earl (Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET), Resumes April 3 with one-hour episode
30 Rock (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET), Resumes April 10, 5 episodes
The Office (Thursdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET), Resumes April 10, 5-6 episodes
Scrubs (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET), Resumes April 10
ER (Thursdays, 10-11 p.m. ET), Resumes April 10
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Tuesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET), Resumes April 15
Law & Order (Wednesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET), Resumes April 23
Heroes – not until the fall!
CBS:
How I Met Your Mother, March 17, 9 episodes
The Big Bang Theory, March 17, 9 episodes
Two and a Half Men, March 17, 9 episodes
CSI: Miami, March 24, 8 episodes
Cold Case, March 30, 5 episodes
Criminal Minds, April 2, 7 episodes
CSI: NY, April 2, 7 episodes
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, April 3, 6 episodes
Without a Trace, April 3, 6 episodes
Ghost Whisperer April 4, 6 episodes
Numb3rs, April 4, 6 episodes
Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, April 8, 7 episodes
Moonlight, April 11, 4 episodes
Rules of Engagement, April 14, 6 episodes
Shark, TBA, 4 episodes
CW:
Smallville, April, 5-6 episodes
Supernatural, April, 5-6 episodes
One Tree Hill, April, 5-6 episodes
Reaper, April, 5-6 episodes
ABC
Lost, 5 additional episodes
Fox
Bones, April 14, 4+ episodes
House, TBA, 4+ episodes
Sci-Fi
Battlestar Galactica, April 4, 10-14 episodes (14 episodes are currently filmed out of a total of 20, rumors are that Sci-Fi may split into two 10-episode seasons)
It looks like the Oscars may go on without a hitch, other than some last minute jokes which surely won’t be any more cringe-inducing than usual. According to an Associated Press article earlier today, sources are saying that the Writer’s Guild is close to coming to an agreement with Hollywood that could end the strike as early as next week.
The writer’s strike, which has stopped Hollywood to a standstill and become major water cooler fodder for just about everyone, has gone on for a staggering three months. The writer’s have their argument – after all, shouldn’t they be compensated for money earned through the Internet? – but it will be nice to have them back working again. Only time will tell how much this will affect movies and television; while most shows have been stopped dead by a lack of new episodes (and Lost only has seven more to go!), the true affects may not be seen until this fall, where many of the projects that would have been written over the last couple of months would make it to the public in finished form. Will there be a fall television season? What will the quality of movies be like? Will the studios attempt to reboot some shows like The Office later this spring?
Assuming the strike ends within the next seven to ten days, I’m sure there will be plenty of announcements as to what shows will restart sooner than later, so on and so forth. All I can say is, about frikkin’ time.
I hadn’t heard anything one way or another about the new season of Lost (Lost: Season 4), but it looks like Lost is arriving on TV as planned on January 31, 2008. Having written that sentence, I looked up the show on Wikipedia and found that Lost has indeed been hit by the writer’s strike – which means we get an eight episode season. This was the same trouble that the show ran into last year, so we’ll see how it fares. What is unclear is whether the other eight episodes that have not yet been filmed will appear at a later time, or if the writers – when they return – will simply shorten the three 16-episode remaining seasons by eight.
Anyway, the preview for Lost: Season 4 is now online, and I must say it’s quite impressive. After not liking the season three finale all that much, I’ve grown to appreciate it a lot more over the last few months. Obviously the writers have something clever up their sleeves, and, as it is quite clear, the rescuers aren’t Heaven-sent as the survivors think they are.
The writer’s strike is over, and all I can say is… thank you Lord! As a result, the major networks have started to release press releases detailing what to expect over the last couple of months. Many people feared that TV shows would be done for the season, but apparently the networks were more worried… As a result, many TV shows are returning this spring. The good news is that Lost, which was originally scheduled for only eight episodes, will now air 13 episodes (albeit with a break in March). The bad news is that Heroes will not return until the fall.
