The Big Bang Theory writers strike
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Actors to strike? Posted 24th June 2008
One strike in a year is bad luck, but two? A scary prospect which will put fear in the heart of studio execs. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP), look like they will not reach agreement on a pay-deal before the deadline next Tuesday.
A strike would disrupt production of movies & television shows, such as The Big Bang Theory. The previous season was heavily interrupted by the Writers' Strike.
The Independent of London has the full story.
Big Bang Theory back into production! Posted 13th February 2008
CBS has officially announced The Big Bang Theory will return to the air on March 17 for 9 new episodes.
For more info, please read this article.
Writers to vote on proposed deal Posted 10th February 2008
The leaders of the Writer's Guild of America have unanimously voted to put the proposed deal, between the Guild and the producers, to Guild members.
Writers will vote on Tuesday over whether to end the strike immediately, if the vote fails then striking will continue until the Guild holds a ten day vote on the contract itself.
Showrunners will return to work tomorrow (Monday) for the first time in 3 months, that will see The Big Bang Theory's showrunner Bill Prady able to return to work.
Writers reach tentative deal Posted 9th February 2008
Writers could be back at work Monday after the WGA announced it had reached a tentative deal with Producers. The deal will give Writers a larger cut of money earned when their shows are added to the Internet.
The Guild will meet later today with members discussing the agreement, if the agreement is accepted by WGA members then the writers could return to work as early as Monday (Feb 11th).
Strike Update Posted 8th February 2008
Reports from the Writers Guild of America suggest striking writers could return to work as soon as next week.
Guild leaders will meet tomorrow (Saturday 9th) to discuss the recently devised contract between the Writers & Producers, if the contract does not receive large opposition from the writers then Guild meetings on Sunday (10th Feb) could see an order to return to work as soon as Monday (11th Feb).
Even if writers do return Monday, some shows might not see the airwaves until April because of the length of an episode's production cycle, The Big Bang Theory and other multi-camera shows are produced quicker so it might return to airwaves earlier. The Big Bang Theory also has a completed script ready to be produced.
Strike Breakthrough Posted 3rd February 2008
Striking writers have reportedly reached a deal with the producers unions which might see the strike end.
Writers and producers held 2 week long talks and apparently addressed all concerns such as how much writers are paid for Internet downloads and streams of their TV shows.
Pencils sent to Media Moguls Posted 11th December 2007
The "Pencils 2 Moguls" scheme, which was backed by show runner and co-creator of "The Big Bang Theory" Bill Prady, has completed its first phase to send pencils to the big media moguls, including CBS' Les Moonves, hoping to pressure them into ending the strike.
According to United Hollywood, 500,000 pencils will now be distributed to the media moguls in a plan similar to the "Nuts for Jericho" ploy to get CBS to renew drama "Jericho" - which they indeed did, bringing the show back this season only to be interrupted by the strike.
You can still donate money for pencils to the Pencils 2 Media Moguls scheme at UnitedHollywood.com.
Strike Update Posted 8th December 2007
It has been a while since we posted a strike update and so here is another update.
Talks between writers & producers respective unions have collapsed with no agreement, its likely there will be no new negotiation for a while and so don't expect much to happen over Christmas, its possible that they won't get to produce any more episodes this season.
The future for the show itself looks good, Les Moonves president of CBS said they are likely to renew it (especially if the strike lasts all season) and a long strike which effects the production of new pilots for next season only increases chances that the show will be back for a second season.
After months off air its unclear how viewers would react, but coming back after that period of time could be good for the show as die-hard fans are unlikely to defect, CBS Mondays is likely to be as popular as it was before and those who forgot about the show and those who saw it before are likely to sample it again.
Message from the co-creator Posted 18th November 2007
We have a message from Bill Prady, co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, on the issue of the writers strike and how fans can help the writers get a fair deal and new episodes back on air.
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A message to the fans of "The Big Bang Theory".
First, let me take this opportunity to say how much we appreciate the support and enthusiasm you guys have for the show. Right now, more than anything, what we'd like to be doing is writing and producing more episodes. Unfortunately, the studios and networks refusal to negotiate with the writers has, as you know, led to a strike. There are some positive developments recently, including the companies' announcement that they are now willing to start talking to the writers after Thanksgiving. We're hopeful.
In the meantime, there's something important you should know. In this struggle, the companies don't feel that the fans should have a voice. The writers disagree. You, after all, are who we write for. It's important that the companies know how many of you there are and how strongly you want your shows back.
There have been a number of fan proposals we've seen - ideas for ways fans can have a symbolic impact. One that appeals to us is the campaign to send pencils to the heads of the companies - by the truckload! Maybe with a message like, "here are pencils, now get our writers back!".
The website unitedhollywood.com has a link called "Pencils to Moguls" that will let you send pencils - a buck for a box of twelve - that will be delivered by the truckload. And let's make that a lot of truckloads!
Send them a message. Let them know what the writers know: the fans matter!
Hopefully this will all be over soon and we can get back to making "The Big Bang Theory"!
Bill Prady
co-creator
"The Big Bang Theory".
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Be sure to visit UnitedHollywood.com and put "The Big Bang Theory" as your supported show.
Kaley on the Writers Strike Posted 14th November 2007
Kaley Cuoco had this to say on the Writers Strike:
Full article at USAToday.com.
BBT Reruns Start Posted 13th November 2007
As we suspected reruns of The Big Bang Theory will start next week, with the Pilot episode. Due to the writers strike only 8 episodes have been made and they have now all aired.
November 19th will see the Pilot reair at the usual time of 8:30ET/PT.
November 26th will see "The Big Bran Hypothesis" air.
The "Next Episode" block on the side will not provide information on reruns, for that you will have to visit our schedules pages.
Its is unclear what will happen in Canada and India where first-run episodes are currently airing.
Production shut down Posted 6th November 2007
The New York Times has revealed that production on The Big Bang Theory, and other CBS Monday comedies, has stopped due to the writers strike.
Full story at The New York Times.
The strike has begun Posted 5th November 2007
The writers strike, organized by the Writers Guild of America, has officially begun. Picket lines will be set up today outside all the major studios, including CBS and Warner Bros. lots - where The Big Bang Theory is produced.
Topical talk shows such as The Tonight Show and The Daily Show are likely to go to repeats from today. A prolonged strike could effect new sitcoms and dramas, like the The Big Bang Theory, which have less episodes to fall back on if the current stock run out.
Writers strike effective Nov, 5th Posted 3rd November 2007
The Writers Guild of America has voted unanimously to begin strike action at 12AM on Monday, November 5th.
Writers will be forced to stay home from work once the strike begins and while producers and show runners can continue to work, they can't continue to write scripts or even change lines.
The shows immediately effected will be late-night talk shows such as The Daily Show and The Tonight Show as these shows are written and filmed daily, leaving no backlog of scripts for them to produce. The shows will likely begin reruns on Monday.
In the event of a lengthy strike, hosts such as David Letterman or Jay Leno might try hosting themselves without writers.
Sitcoms and dramas will have enough episodes to last out November sweeps and the quiet month of December but if the strike continues, newcomers such as The Big Bang Theory could find themselves off the schedule because they don't have enough episodes in the can to air or rerun over long period of time. CBS has "The New Adventures of Old Christine" waiting in the wings which could replace TBBT in the event of a prolonged strike.
While its possible an agreement will be reached before Monday, preventing the strike, it looks unlikely. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attempted to resolve the strike earlier this week, but without success. The Television & Movie production industry is big money to Los Angeles and surrounding areas, meaning a lengthy strike could cause a significant downturn in their economy.
Writers look set to strike Posted 2nd November 2007
The Writers Guild of America looks set to order its 12,000 members to go to the picket lines today after the old writers' contract expired without any agreement on a new one.
The WGA wants its members to receive more money from DVDs and Downloads of their work but the studios say that the money made from those alternative mediums is helping to finance rising production costs and so they can't afford to give writers a greater cut.
If the strike is called later today then production on The Big Bang Theory (and other scripted programming) would likely come to a halt. In the event of a lengthy strike, CBS may struggle to fill its schedule with the limited number of episodes completed, forcing them to take scripted programmes off air.
With new shows typically having less episodes in the can than the returning shows, newcomers like The Big Bang Theory are likely to be early casualties of a prolonged strike.
If the show is off air for an over long amount of time then viewers might not come back.