Day 36: WGA's Strike; Minor TBS Schedule Change; ION Not Airing Kung Fu

Monday, December 10, 2007

Day 36: WGA's Strike; Minor TBS Schedule Change; ION Not Airing Kung Fu

It is now day 36 and there seems to be no end in sight for this strike. Late on Friday, we received this statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers: "We're disappointed to report that talks between the AMPTP and WGA have broken down yet again. Quite frankly, we're puzzled and disheartened by an ongoing WGA negotiating strategy that seems designed to delay or derail talks rather than facilitate an end to this strike. Union negotiators in our industry have successfully concluded 306 major agreements with the AMPTP since its inception in 1982. The WGA organizers sitting across the table from us have never concluded even one industry accord. Their Quixotic pursuit of radical demands led them to begin this strike, and now has caused this breakdown in negotiations. We hope that the WGA will come back to this table with a rational plan that can lead us to a fair and equitable resolution to a strike that is causing so much distress for so many people in our industry and community."
And the WGA told us this on Friday: "Today, after three days of discussions, the AMPTP came back to us with a proposal that included a total rejection of our proposal on Internet streaming of December 3. They are holding to their offer of a $250 fixed residual for unlimited one year streaming after a six-week window of free use. They still insist on the DVD rate for Internet downloads. They refuse to cover original material made for new media. We remain ready and willing to negotiate, no matter how intransigent our bargaining partners are, because the stakes are simply too high. We were prepared to counter their proposal tonight, and when any of them are ready to return to the table, we're here, ready to make a fair deal."
I don't care who to believe. I just want this over NOW! ABC will be releasing their January strike schedule this week. We will let you know when that happens! So come on back!

TBS has made some minor schedule changes effective Monday, December 24. Many viewers have complained about the constant airings of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on many channels (Nick at Nite, The N, and TBS), well now you might be just a little bit relieved. TBS is moving the show out of 3-4pm weekdays into 9-10am weekdays. I guess that is a start. TBS is wishing us a Merry Christmas by doing this...their present to us. With this change, the morning movie will go from 9-11am to 10am-12pm, thus the Home Improvement block will be shifted from 11am-1pm to 12pm-2pm which will move Yes, Dear from 1-2pm to 3-4pm. Say that ten times fast. Click HERE to view the changes and to discuss them. These changes are only for the cable TBS...not Peachtree TV in Atlanta and Canada.

In other scheduling news, ION Television was slated to bring back Kung Fu to Saturday nights at 6pm starting Dec. 15, but that will not happen anymore. NFL Game of the Week highlights will continue to air the rest of the month until the NFL season is over. So maybe Kung Fu will return in January? We will let you know. We should have January this week, if all goes well. So you'll want to come on back for that! The only thing announced is The Drew Carey Show weeknights 9-10pm.

It is still early in the day...if we have more news, we will return for sure.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, December 9

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 8)

Tuesday, December 9

Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Catch Regina on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) - Lily appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She also talks about Is This Thing On? on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Amy Sedaris (No Activity/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Strangers with Candy) - Amy appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tony Rock (Living Biblically/Mann & Wife/All of Us) - Tony is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Andy Cohen interviews Matt on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo. He also talks about Christmas in December on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Emily in Paris) - Philippine and Emily in Paris creator and executive producer Darren Star are guests on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Mila stops by for a chat about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Taran Killam (Stumble/Single Parents) - Taran talks about ABC's High Potential on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) - Mark and Tom talk about The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kery talks about Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Toni Collette (United States of Tara) - Toni talks about Goodbye June on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Zachary Levi (Less Than Perfect/Telenovela) - Zachary tells Sherri about his new film Not Without Hope on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie plays behind-the-scenes and shares moments from her biggest projects like Good Will Hunting. Plus, she tells Drew about joining the cast of Emily in Paris on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie, Amirah Kassem, Mikel Welch are facing off against Drew in the annual quirky Christmas tree competition on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Marlo Thomas (That Girl) - Marlo tells Drew about her amazing work with St. Jude's Children's Hospital on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.