Writers Strike Over

Now that's a title I've been dying to post. On Tuesday members of the Writers Guild of America voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th, ending the 100-day strike that cost the entertainment industry $1.9 billion.

That means the writers are going back to work today to try to salvage as much of the TV season as possible. The Academy Awards ceremony scheduled for Sunday, February 24th will go ahead as originally planned. ABC will air the live telecast.

Tina Fey-hosted "Saturday Night Live" will be the first show back on the air on Saturday, February 23. NBC is hoping to air another 10-12 new installments of the program this season, with the first 4 airing for four straight weeks.

Unless they have additional unaired pre-strike episodes in the can (e.g. "Smallville"), the earliest time we get to see our shows back will be mid March, when a handful of sitcoms - three-camera shows shot on tape, including CBS' "Two and a Half Men" - are expected to return.

Most of the broadcast network shows however (including single-camera film sitcoms like "The Office") will restart their current seasons in the middle of April and run through the end of May sweeps.

Cable shows will also be affected by the strike as new seasons of TNT's "The Closer," HBO's "Entourage" or Lifetime's "Army Wives" will be somewhat delayed. AMC's "Mad Men" are expected to return on schedule as the studio that produces the show reached a separate deal with the WGA last month.

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