Shows Shut Down as Writers Strike

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In an often spirited display of protest playing out on both sides of the country, more than 1,000 screenwriters — representing “Lost,” “The Young and the Restless,” “Chinatown” and everything in between — hoisted picket signs and chanted labor songs as a long-feared show business strike became a potentially crippling reality Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.


In their first full day away from their computer keyboards, the Writers Guild of America members scored several important victories. And those who are not on the picket lines — primarily television’s so-called show runners — found themselves figuratively on the line, wrestling over whether to return to work.


The makers of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “Late Show With David Letterman” said they were suspending production of new episodes. Steve Carell, the star of NBC’s hit “The Office,” refused to cross WGA picket lines, and Ellen DeGeneres, the host of the syndicated talk show “Ellen,” decided against taping her show in a gesture of solidarity.


CBS said production on its comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine” was halted, and ABC said it was delaying the premiere of the series “Cashmere Mafia.” At the risk of losing their jobs, some members of Teamsters Local 399 decided not to cross the picket lines, and that action might have shut down a small number of shows, union officers said.


Read the full L.A. Times story

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