As we mentioned yesterday, the writers' strike may be coming to an end. Michael Eisner leaked that we'd be hearing news of it this weekend, and the former Disney CEO was right. Today Variety reports that "the WGA has finalized its tentative agreement with the majors and will present details of the pact to members today in meetings in Los Angeles and New York." more ›

CNBC reported last night that the WGA strike may be over! Their source is former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who now hosts a show on the network. When asked on the show Fast Money where the WGA strike stands he replied, “It’s over. They’ve made a deal, they shook hands on a deal. The deal is going on Saturday to the constituents (for a vote)… I think it’s impossible that they turn it down. A deal has been made and (the writers) will be back to work reasonably soon!” more ›

If you are looking for some good television (you know, the kind with actual scripts), BBC America delivers a one-two punch on Saturday night with the season debuts of two British sci-fi shows – Doctor Who (8:00 p.m.) and its spin-off Torchwood (9:00 p.m.). The episodes of Torchwood are a bit fresher, airing a few weeks ago in the UK, while the Doctor Who episodes aired last spring over the pond. more ›

We can’t get excited about or honestly recommend any of the rubbish spewed forth by the WGA strike-hurting networks in place of actual scripted programs. At this point, we would like to never see the Endemol logo on air again. (Apparently Endemol is Dutch for “mindless garbage television.”) So we were a bit surprised when we heard that NBC actually was importing a version of one of our favorite British programs, Top Gear. more ›

Due to the Writer's Guild of America strike, Hollywood's party, the Golden Globes Awards were transformed from a boozy, fun dinner party to a press conference where presenters from entertainment programs like Extra! and E! News got to announce the winners. Yes, it was as painful as it sounded (Giuliana Rancic, it's not about you); many said they couldn't believe they were announcing the winners but said they would prefer it with the stars. Inside Edition's Jim Moret struck a classy note when he acknowledged the Hollywood Foreign Association (the organization that doles out the Golden Globes) President Jorge Camara. more ›

To plug the giant hole in the network’s schedule this Sunday, caused by the WGA not giving a waiver to Dick Clark Productions for the Golden Globe Awards, NBC has handed the whole thing over to its news division. more ›

Earlier this week, while in Grand Central Terminal we heard a familiar voice reminding us to “Mind the gap.” It turns out it was CNBC “Money Honey” Maria Bartiromo. Apparently Metro-North riders aren’t the only ones who are being reminded, as the Post reports that Long Island Rail Road commuters are getting similar reminders. The recorded messages were the brainchild of MTA board member Mitchell Palli. So apparently MTA board members do other things than raising fares, albeit of questionable benefit. more ›

Oops! WNBC's Mistake Causes Problems for St. Louis TV Station more ›

No More Bolaris in the Forecast You won’t be seeing John Bolaris anymore on WCBS. He was last seen this past weekend and his bio has been taken down from the CBS 2 website. He will be starting at Fox owned WTXF in Philadelphia next month. We should mention that before the Long Island native was basically run out of town on a rail down there after predicting a blizzard that never happened, although he... more ›

Terrible 2 No More If you were to compare WCBS today with WCBS a year ago, you would definitely notice that something has changed. Sure, the graphics and music have changed, but that isn’t really it: What happened is that the station has finally gotten a clearer focus - not just because the station went HD. It's in the quality of the product they put on air and what CBS has been covering. It was... more ›

Barack may have Oprah, but the stagehands' and writers' union have John Edwards! The former senator, currently in third place after Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the hunt for the Democratic presidential nomination, voiced his support of Local One, the Broadway stagehands union that has been on strike since November 9 over a new contract. Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said, "To interfere with the power of the Broadway community is not... more ›

Saturday night viewers of NBC didn't get a new episode of Saturday Night Live, but 150 audience members at the UCB Theater did! Live and un-aired, the show was to help raise money for crew members affected by the strike. Amy Poehler, who organized the event, made this statement:"The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater is a second home to a lot of these performers and writers. We are doing this to raise spirits, raise awareness, and... more ›

Wait a minute, didn't Brian Williams host Saturday NIght Live just two weeks ago, the one where Barack Obama appeared in the opening? Yes, but with the Writers Guild strike still on, Saturday Night Live decided to revisit the recent past, versus dig into old "Best of" clip shows. The unfortunate thing is that Page Six reports 90% of the SNL production staff was fired "until further notice" because of the strike. Other TV shows'... more ›

First amNewYork outs the secret bars around town, and now the NY Post is revealing the up-until-now secret shows happening soon at UCB. The casts of 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, both taking part in the WGA strike (as the actors are also writers), are bringing their shows to the stage. Each will perform new episodes live, in the small 150-seat theater -- 30 Rock on Monday the 19th and Saturday Night Live on... more ›

British comedian John Oliver has become an indispensable fixture on The Daily Show, where he’s found a highly receptive audience for his particularly earnest style of fake reportage. But millions of viewers accustomed to their nightly laugh therapy have been going through heavy withdrawal since the Writers Guild strike put the kibosh on new episodes. At issue is the guild’s demand for a taste of the loot being raked in from new media outlets. The... more ›

Make sure you’re sitting down before reading further: Today TV bloggers formed a virtual picket line to support the Writers Guild strike. We’ve been refreshing Ramblings of a TV Whore all day, hoping for some blogging scab to post something! All this strike activity is becoming quite the trend; CBS News writers are expected to join their more gifted and talented “creative” colleagues who are entering week two of the strike. The CBS News scribes... more ›

Members of the Writers Guild of America have been striking in Los Angeles and New York this past week over details of a basic contract between writers and producers - one of the biggest sticking points is the amount of residuals writers get from DVD and new media distribution. The NY Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd asked Seth Meyers (who we spoke to on Tuesday) to give her a weekend update about the strike:... more ›

Bartelstein is Back Steve Bartelstein will be back on anchoring starting Saturday morning on WCBS alongside Mary Calvi. It was back in September when he revealed to the Post’s Cindy Adams that CBS made overtures to him on the day he was fired from WABC - and that he had testicular cancer. He’ll also be doing some reporting for the station as his health permits. Bartelstein made his first appearance on the station on yesterday’s... more ›

The Writers Guild strike continued into its second day today; in L.A. Jay Leno delivered donuts to strikers on his motorcycle, while here in New York Seth Meyers joined the picket line and the giant rat outside Silvercup Studios in Long Island City (30 Rock and Gossip Girl are among the productions filmed there). The Saturday Night Live star and head writer had this to say:TV is completely changing, the way people are watching... more ›

Members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike today after talks between the WGA and Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed last night. WGA East members are striking outside of NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Plaza on 49th Street today - 30 Rock's Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers, and the Daily Show's John Oliver were on the line, as were many other writers for other productions - and other... more ›