The Writers Guild of America strike, which has ground Hollywood to a near halt for the last 14 weeks, is set to end this week, as the writer's vote to end the strike due to a new offer from the major studios.
Voting is taking place now and will continue through Tuesday night on whether to officially call off the strike. The ruling boards have unanimously blessed the deal, so the measure is widely expected to pass among members. This would allow writers to return to work this Wednesday.
The proposed contract will then be voted on over the next two weeks. The new 3 year contract provides many new income sources for writers, including residuals on web streaming and other new media. On the other hand, the WGA failed to get control over reality television writing, one of their goals earlier in the negotiation process.
With writer's returning midweek expect the effect to be felt first on late-night shows, who, with the exception of Letterman, have been sans scribes since returning to the air last month. Scripted television with a longer lead time will be going back into production as quickly as possible, with new episodes possibly coming for some shows in as little as two weeks.
With the Director's Guild of America contract already ratified, and the WGA contract now settled, it seems unlikely the soon-to-expire Screen Actor's Guild contract will lead to a strike of its own.
In other WGA news, the Guild's annual awards ceremony was to have been held this past Saturday, but it was canceled due to the Guild's own strike. They did announce the winners, however:
Best Original Screenplay: Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men
Best Documentary Screenplay: Taxi to the Dark Side
Best Drama Series: The Wire
Best Comedy Series: 30 Rock
Best New Series: Mad Men
Best Episodic Drama: The Sopranos (The Second Coming)
Best Episodic Comedy: The Office (The Job)
Best Comedy/Variety: The Colbert Report
Best Daytime Serials: The Young and the Restless
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