Desperate to fill slots as US strike goes on

WILL Desperate Housewives amalgamate with Prison Break? How about Grey’s Anatomy teaming up with Scrubs? Or could Ugly Betty end getting a facial on Nip/Tuck?

It’s all to play for in the “battle of the biros” as the Writers Guild of America take on their TV bosses.

The strike has affected a large number of television shows that were due to be broadcast in the US and elsewhere during the 2007-’08 television season.

The writers went on strike on November 5 last, seeking more money from the sale of DVDs and the distribution of shows via the internet, mobile phones and other outlets. Producers are resisting, arguing profits from DVDs just offset the increased cost of production.

As a result, American weekly shows, enjoyed by Irish viewers and beyond, are set to ground to a halt. Programmes like the popular Hannah Montana and One Tree Hill have seen production stopped as actors down tools in support of their colleagues. Other weekly shows are likely to follow suit.

RTÉ executives are meeting this week to draw up a plan of campaign to replace many of the station’s most popular weekly programmes if the strike drags on.

Dermot Horan, head of RTÉ broadcasting commissions, will have his hands full trying to fill the empty slots.

“Desperate Housewives is particularly affected because there were only eight episodes in the can before the strike,” an RTÉ spokesman said last night. “Other popular shows affected include Prison Break, which has a huge following.”

Last month, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria was picketed by writers on strike who disrupted the filming of the programme and the Golden Globe Awards ceremony was also cancelled.

Next month’s Oscars are in jeopardy as well.

For once Britain’s BAFTA awards will be able to out-glam their Academy equivalent, as striking actors, or those in sympathy with their writer colleagues, plan to give the Tinseltown bash a skip and head to London.

Among the shows affected are Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Spongebob Squarepants, Nip/ Tuck, Family Guy, One Tree Hill, Two and a Half Men, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives.

www.wga.org