Late night shows next to cross writer’s line
Monday, December 17th, 2007
Amidst rumors that their rerun ratings were plummeting, two late night talk shows will be returning to taping January 2nd. Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, both on NBC, have confirmed that they will return in 2008 with new episodes whether the writer’s strike was resolved or not. If you’re an Angelino then you probably know at least one person directly affected by this strike, and know what a sensitive issue it’s turning out to be. I have friends in the industry who were able to keep working for a while, but there were only so many finished scripts done, and production for pretty much every TV show has stopped for the foreseeable future. And please, don’t get me started on reality shows. They need to die in a shallow grave already.
With negotiations crumbling left and right, lines are starting to be drawn. Writers, wanting residuals from new media sales like Internet screenings of TV shows, have turned to the web to make ends meet in the meantime, while others who were affected in a different way either stand with the writers and demand that they be treated on par with the actors, directors, and producers that make real what the writers create or cross the lines and work as if the strike meant nothing to them. I was disappointed when Ellen DeGeneres so quickly ignored the writers and returned on air, especially after going ballistic over a dog and then not shedding a tear for the writers that made her funny and enjoyable (not that I’ve ever seen an episode of her show, I’m just sayin’). But it’s even more disappointing to me that Conan would potentially cross the line, too. Out of all the late night hosts, I thought he would hold out the longest and show the most solidarity with the writers who have dreamed up some of the most hilarious moments in recent TV history (whoever thought up the Walker, Texas Ranger lever, above, was a GENIUS). Not only that, but Conan (and Jay Leno) are actually members of the Writer’s Guild, meaning that they will cross their own picket lines.
What does this mean for the rest of their careers? Will you boycott their shows when they return, until the strike is over? Or forever? Or do you even care? This is a big gray area and open to a lot of debate, but it just doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe the strike will be resolved quickly and this will be a moot point.
You can read more about O’Brien and Leno’s picket line crossing here.
