The Office is closed — or it could be very soon, along with 30 Rock and a lot of other shows
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- November
- 5
So let’s say your union goes on strike, and all the people who do what you do have to walk the picket line instead of showing up to work.
Now let’s say you have two jobs at your job?
That’s the quandary facing B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein. All three enjoy heavy screentime as supporting cast members on NBC’s The Office. And all three are card-carrying members of the Writers Guild of America, counted on to pen episodes and contribute to rewrites during shooting. 30 Rock creator Tina Fey is in the same boat.
They could show up and honor their Screen Actors Guild commitments but refuse to write. Or they could follow the WGA’s urging and stay home entirely. According to Variety.com, they are not the only ones in this sticky position as day one of the writers strike comes to a close. (Fey, as the above picture shows, took to the picket line.)
Of course, The Office is the show I care most about, and its immediate future looks bleak.
At his myspace blog, writer/director James Gunn—husband of The Office’s Jenna Fischer—is pessimistic about the strike.
And, if it lasts for a bit, you’re going to lose out on the second half of the seasons of your favorite TV shows (already, WGA member Steve Carell didn’t show up to set, so this season of THE OFFICE could be kaput after the next few already-shot episodes.
Rainn Wilson didn’t show up either today, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which says the show has only one scripted episode to film.
Executive Producer Greg Daniels came right out and told TVWeek.com “We’re trying to shut down ‘The Office.’�
Mr. Daniels said there’s only one unproduced “Office� script that’s ready to go, but it’s a good one. “Last week we had our best table reading of the entire run of the show, and that’s what we were going to shoot this week,� he said.
I can tell you from firsthand observation, the online Office fandom is freaking out. See for yourself.
What’s more, WGA has posted at its site (Pencils Down Means Pencils Down) the names of those showrunners who have pledged solidarity with the writers. The Office’s Daniels is on there. So is 30 Rock’s Tina Fey. A quick scan—there’s more names than I care to count—turns up Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice), Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (Lost) and James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and Al Jean (The Simpsons).
And if you’re a fan of new shows like Chuck, Journeyman or Gossip Girl, Kristin Veitch’s expert take is hardly encouraging.
Remember when you were a kid and there were only a half-dozen or so channels and you’d complain, “There’s nothing on TV!” It might soon be time to get reacquainted with your inner child.
Tim Goodman at the San Francisco Chronicle suggests some DVD titles and some DVR/TiVo tips to weather the programming drought (earning my gratitude and respect with his nods to 30 Rock, The Office—the original British version—and Arrested Development along the way).
Looks like I can finally start watching those Battlestar Galactica DVDs.
Photo: 30 Rock’s Tina Fey and Saturday Night Live writer Seth Meyers picket outside NBC headquarters in New York today. Film and TV writers resolved to put down their pens and take up picket signs after last-ditch talks failed to avert a strike. (AP Photo/Gary He)
This entry was posted
on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 5:37 pm by Brian Howard.
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