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When will writers strike cause Soap Operas to go into repeats?
- Thread starter Skynet74
- Start date
They probably won't. The ABC soaps reportedly stockpiled scripts to last through the end of the year, and after that point producers will step in (they're all fin-core, supposedly) and write the scripts themselves. I imagine CBS's soaps made similar arrangements, and NBC is just looking for an excuse to cancel "Days" so force majeure might be their best friend.
Skynet74 said:I've always hated Soap Operas, so I wouldn't care if they left the airwaves for good. But as far as I know they are still airing new episodes each day. When will they be forced into reruns because of the strike?
No, they have been hiring scabs, just like the last strike, and production members are writing as well. Soaps and reruns do not mix. Some scabs have already been busted from what I understand. The actual soap writers seem to be honoring the strike. Most soaps will be gone within the next year or so anyways. NBC is ready cancel Days of Our Lives at any moment, and the contracts for Guiding Light and As The World Turns only run through September of next year and they aren't looking to be renewed.
No comment on the futures of ATWT and GL, but I do
remember the '88 writers' strike, when ATWT was using
pickup or "scab" writers, and then-head writer Doug Marland
(R.I.P.) was severely limited in his input. At the time he had
a young woman stalking the much-older Bob Hughes, with a
sinister-looking guy seemingly stalking her. It turned out that
Mr. Sinister was her brother, and at the climax of the story,
when Ms. Stalker was about to kill Bob's wife Kim, brother came
crashing through the window to save the day. That, said Marland,
was not the ending he had in mind but there was nothing he could
do about it.
remember the '88 writers' strike, when ATWT was using
pickup or "scab" writers, and then-head writer Doug Marland
(R.I.P.) was severely limited in his input. At the time he had
a young woman stalking the much-older Bob Hughes, with a
sinister-looking guy seemingly stalking her. It turned out that
Mr. Sinister was her brother, and at the climax of the story,
when Ms. Stalker was about to kill Bob's wife Kim, brother came
crashing through the window to save the day. That, said Marland,
was not the ending he had in mind but there was nothing he could
do about it.
bpatrick said:No comment on the futures of ATWT and GL, but I do
remember the '88 writers' strike, when ATWT was using
pickup or "scab" writers, and then-head writer Doug Marland
(R.I.P.) was severely limited in his input. At the time he had
a young woman stalking the much-older Bob Hughes, with a
sinister-looking guy seemingly stalking her. It turned out that
Mr. Sinister was her brother, and at the climax of the story,
when Ms. Stalker was about to kill Bob's wife Kim, brother came
crashing through the window to save the day. That, said Marland,
was not the ending he had in mind but there was nothing he could
do about it.
I don't remember that, but I do remember Craig was brought back from the dead, only for his wife Sierra to be presumed dead herself. Marland if I recall was also less than enthusied with that. It wouldn't be until the following year when the two were finally re-united.
If NBC does decide to give up on "Days Of Our Lives" when the show's contract runs out in 2009, I could easily imagine it landing at CBS, which would, in turn, give Procter & Gamble the excuse it needs to finally pull the plug on the last two soaps they have in production; "The Guiding Light", and "As The World Turns".
I
imhomerjay
Guest
ssetta said:What about The Young & The Restless (ONLY soap opera in HD) and The Bold & The Beautiful?
CBS has said they're covered with scripts for a while, and has been said before, other non-union prouction staff will pick up the writing if it comes to that.
Dighton Rockhead said:If NBC does decide to give up on "Days Of Our Lives" when the show's contract runs out in 2009, I could easily imagine it landing at CBS, which would, in turn, give Procter & Gamble the excuse it needs to finally pull the plug on the last two soaps they have in production; "The Guiding Light", and "As The World Turns".
Not to mention that Y&R and Days share the same producers (Sony).
Nooo! Not "GL"! If they can hang on 3 more decades they'll make it to the century mark.
Re: Douglas Marland and the 1988 Writers' Strike ..
There was a great interview with him in a Soap Opera Digest of that time. I think that's when he made his famous statement, "if the audience says, 'he would never do that', you have failed."
Words of wisdom that I wish were heard today by the EPs and network suits.
As you know, the Procter and Gamble shows on CBS are going through tumultuous times .. beginning January 2, they will be using handheld cameras and only two or three four-walled sets .. and lots of exterior shots in neighborhoods around Brooklyn, where ATWT is taped. On December 21, the last day of production for the year, P&G laid off a lot of the behind-the-scenes people (stagehands and set decorators who had been with them for years) in an effort to cut costs.
ATWT is doing pretty well in the household ratings (usually #3), and GL has been a critical darling lately. Neither show is able to move out of the basement in the coveted "Women 18-49" ratings, though .. which does make me fear for the future of both shows.
I do think that no matter how good DAYS is able to get under Ed Scott's leadership in 2008, it will be off NBC in 2009 and by this time next year, we'll see DAYS being shopped around to other networks. NBC has proven that they do not care about daytime programming anymore - no game shows, no real talk shows, and now no soap operas. When they axed SUNSET BEACH the same year they canned ANOTHER WORLD, a show with a massive fan base and pretty decent ratings compared to what they replaced it with, it looked like NBC was pretty much done with soaps. PASSIONS was just another star ego trip for their former golden boy, James E. Reilly.
There was a great interview with him in a Soap Opera Digest of that time. I think that's when he made his famous statement, "if the audience says, 'he would never do that', you have failed."
Words of wisdom that I wish were heard today by the EPs and network suits.
As you know, the Procter and Gamble shows on CBS are going through tumultuous times .. beginning January 2, they will be using handheld cameras and only two or three four-walled sets .. and lots of exterior shots in neighborhoods around Brooklyn, where ATWT is taped. On December 21, the last day of production for the year, P&G laid off a lot of the behind-the-scenes people (stagehands and set decorators who had been with them for years) in an effort to cut costs.
ATWT is doing pretty well in the household ratings (usually #3), and GL has been a critical darling lately. Neither show is able to move out of the basement in the coveted "Women 18-49" ratings, though .. which does make me fear for the future of both shows.
I do think that no matter how good DAYS is able to get under Ed Scott's leadership in 2008, it will be off NBC in 2009 and by this time next year, we'll see DAYS being shopped around to other networks. NBC has proven that they do not care about daytime programming anymore - no game shows, no real talk shows, and now no soap operas. When they axed SUNSET BEACH the same year they canned ANOTHER WORLD, a show with a massive fan base and pretty decent ratings compared to what they replaced it with, it looked like NBC was pretty much done with soaps. PASSIONS was just another star ego trip for their former golden boy, James E. Reilly.
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