Writers' Strike Officially Over; CBS Announces Post-Strike Returning Series; Remembering Ron Leavitt

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Writers' Strike Officially Over; CBS Announces Post-Strike Returning Series; Remembering Ron Leavitt

The writers' strike is officially over! The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting in favor of ending the work stoppage.
WGAW and WGAE members will next vote to ratify the tentative three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The membership ratification vote will be conducted by mail and also at membership meetings on February 25, 2008.

CBS has announced return dates for new episodes of nearly all of its returning scripted series! Between 4-9 episodes for each series will be produced immediately for air. The first returning series with new episodes will be the Monday sitcoms on March 17. We will see 9 new episodes each of How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men starting March 17. Old Christine will not be going back into production it seems, but it still has a handful of episodes left from before the strike. The other CBS Monday sitcom Rules of Engagement will be back with 6 new episodes starting April 14. What about Welcome to the Captain? Only 6 were ordered and they will all air by March 10. Slim chance it returns next season.
Moving on to the dramas, CSI: Miami will have the most for dramas and will return Monday, March 24 with 8 new episodes. Sunday drama Cold Case will air for 5 new weeks starting March 30. The other Sunday drama Shark is expected to produce 4 new episodes, but it is unclear when they will air, if at all this season. Wednesday dramas Criminal Minds and CSI: NY return April 2 with 7 new episodes. Thursday dramas CSI and Without a Trace will each have 6 new episodes each starting April 3. Moving on to Fridays, Ghost Whisperer and NUMB3RS will return April 4 for 6 new episodes and rookie Moonlight will return April 11 with the first of 4 new episodes. Finally, the Tuesday dramas will only see Navy NCIS return on April 8 with the first of 7 new episodes. The Unit will not return this season and Cane will also not. Only a slim chance Cane will return at all. CBS will continue to use Big Brother, Showtime's Dexter, and Jericho to fill the void of no The Unit, Shark, and Cane. Yet to premiere mid-season drama Swingtown is resuming production, but when it will air is still a question mark.

Hopefully ABC, NBC, Fox and The CW will release something similar soon. When they do, we will bring it to you for sure.

Finally we leave you today with some sad news. Ron Leavitt, a TV writer and producer who co-created the successful Fox sitcom Married With Children, has died. He died Sunday of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He and Michael G. Moye co-created the hit sitcom. Michael also served as the show's executive producer and helped write nearly 150 episodes. He even appeared in some episodes as a one-liner, usually the character of Jack Dallas.
He was a major player in sitcoms behind the scenes. He wrote for series such as Busting Loose, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and The Bad News Bears. He wrote the pilot episode for the hit '80s sitcom Silver Spoons. He was also a producer of sitcoms such as Unhappily Ever After, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons and It's Your Move. Ron also was the creator of two short-lived Married with Children spin-offs, Top of the Heap and Vinnie & Bobby, both of which starred a pre-Friends Matt LeBlanc. Ron was last seen on the short lived 2004 WB sitcom The Help as a writer and director.
Fans of sitcoms, especially Married with Children, will miss Ron, but his work will live on forever. Ron will be missed. He was 60.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, November 22

Happy's Place - "Happy's House" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie agrees to take Isabella to Happy's house in search of a connection to their late father, leading Bobbie to worry about what they may find; Gabby hopes to strike it rich by searching through Happy's penny collection looking for a rarity.

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Orlando" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Rosie's spoiled nephew Orlando visits, Mayan sets out to expose Rosie's cultural gender bias; George wants to teach Chance the value of hard work, but, instead, helps him create a toxic work environment.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Whacking the Mole" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola has a romantic dream about Bob, she tries to suppress her feelings for him and pays the price.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ralph Lauren and Fish" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob and Abishola finally go on a proper date, which is interrupted by Dottie's medical emergency.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Tough Like a Laundromat Washing Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob hires Abishola to take care of Dottie in his home while she recovers; Dottie has a hard time dealing with her limitations and takes it out on Abishola.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Useless Potheads" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abishola only helping part-time, Bob, Douglas and Christina struggle to take care of Dottie.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wiz-Taken Identity" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie struggles with a spell, Roman says he could do it if he was a wizard: to prove him wrong, Billie uses a Power Glass to transfer her powers to Roman.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - " Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Justin embraces mortality to live with his family; his new challenge arises when Alex introduces Billie, a wizard-in-training, seeking Justin's mentorship.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Friday, November 22

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.