No, the show isn’t being canceled, but with the WGA strike going on, it could be one of the first round of scripted primetime shows to go into reruns. Writers in New York and LA officially went on strike last night, and they started picketing at several studio lots earlier this morning, in an attempt to gain missed royalties from DVD and Internet media sales. The first shows to get the ax are all the late night programs that rely on writers to cut the opening monologues. The majority of scripted primetime shows were supposed to be in the clear until January or February of 2008, but Patrick Dempsey has already voiced the fact that his bread and butter show may be in trouble before that:
“The problem is that we’re not that far ahead, script-wise. I think we’ll have enough shows that take us through Christmas, and after that, we’ll see if that’s the season or not…I think there’s a real chance of that happening. It’s going to be very bad for television, certainly. The season will be wiped out.
“My concern is not so much for myself really, because I’ll be alright, but I think how long this strike lasts is going to affect a lot of people that are living paycheck to paycheck — they are going to be damaged profoundly by this, and I think that’s a real tragedy,” he said. “I think a lot of people and a lot of families are going to be in a difficult place in their lives; hopefully we can come to some sort of understanding and resolve this soon enough that it doesn’t affect those people.”
It could be a crazy time for our favorite shows and those who will be put out of work, so we hope the strike doesn’t last as long as people are predicting!
