Teeth on the Dial: WGA Writer's Strike Ends

The WGA Writer's Strike is officially over after 3 months. Production staff, writers and stars are expected to get back to work as soon as tomorrow. So where does this leave your favourite show?

• Late night shows ("Daily Show", "Colbert", "Conan", "Leno") are expected to have their writer's back Wednesday cranking out new material.
• The next big return after that is "Saturday Night Live", which should air it's first 2008 episode on February 23rd (no host or musical guest announced yet). They have a quick turn-around time over there, and I wonder if we'll see any of the material the cast used a live SNL performance they put on during the strike.
• Generally, expect most 30 minute comedies to be able to crank out between 6-10 new episodes before the end of the season. First new episodes should appear in April.
• Most of the dramas like "Smallville", "House", "CSI", and "ER" are aiming for between 4 - 8 new episodes before year end.
  
• "24" won't be back until 2009.

To find out the latest news on your shows, I encourage you to check out Michael Ausiello on TV Guide, who is keeping the page updated regularly as he hears from various shows:

After The WGA Strike, When Will Your Favourite T.V. Shows Return?

On to my favourites:

• In addition to 6 completed episodes, in addition to the 2 that aired, the producers of Lost are expecting to be able to do 5 more episodes, for a total of 13 out of the previously planned 16 episode season. Look for about a 4 week gap between the pre-strike and post-strike episodes, as mentioned in this interview with "Lost" executive producer Carlton Cuse.
  
• "30 Rock" is expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May. NBC must be eager to capitalize on recent Golden Globe wins for the show. "The Office", "How I Met Your Mother", and "My Name is Earl" are expected to be back with the same amount of episodes.
• My two favourite 2007 rookie shows "Chuck" and "Pushing Daisies" won't be making any new episodes, but both will be back for full seasons in the fall. This is great news for "Pushing Daisies", which has the full season pick-up, and thanks to the shortened season will not have to compete against "American Idol".
• Looks like "Reaper" caught a lucky break with 5-10 new episodes planned. I hope they can capitalize on the potential I saw in the first episode and only in a few spots here and there after that, like the episodes with Patton Oswalt and Curtis Armstrong. They really need to avoid the "Catch-the-Demon-of-the-Week" formula that was bogging them down like bad Scooby-Doo episodes (aka any ones with Scrappy Doo).
  
• While some ABC shows won't see new episodes during the remainder of the 2007-2008 season, ABC gave some sense of security by announcing fall 2008 pick-ups for a bunch of their shows: "Brothers & Sisters," “Desperate Housewives," "Dirty Sexy Money," "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," "Private Practice," "Pushing Daisies," "Samantha Who?" and "Ugly Betty."
• "Heroes" won't see any new episodes, but may be getting a jump on the next season, perhaps airing in late summer. Producer Tim Kring is reportedly working on a "show bible" that will outline where the show is headed over the next few years.
• Big question marks over the fate of "Scrubs", who were slated to wrap up the series this year. There were still seven episodes left to go, and producer/creator Bill Lawrence has said in an interview with Ausiello "that he can wrap up all the storylines in four episodes if he needs to". But NBC hasn't been very enthused about giving the show a proper farewell, as it is the bastard stepchild (ABC/Disney owns the show). Worst case scenario would see Lawrence getting the budget from ABC/Disney presumably to produce the final episodes for the final season DVD if NBC won't air them.
  
  sources: What's Alan Watching? and Michael Ausiello at TV Guide