Writers Strike Has Changed US TV Forever

Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, recently told the New House Of York Times, "In every other state in the world, the bulk of prime-time scheduling is unscripted." Are Film Industry authors listening?

The roll-call of unscripted prime-time scheduling to hit the airs since the Writers Club of United States work stoppage began November 5/07 goes on to grow, and orders for new episodes of constituted unscripted shows are multiplying. More ominously for the writers, overall audience Numbers for prime-time screening have got not dropped.

Short-run series Clang of the Choirs (4 episodes, NBC) and Duel (6, ABC) both did well in the thick of the pre-Christmas viewing doldrums, with a 6-episode tally of CBS's Regis Philbin-hosted Million Dollar Password still to come. American Gladiators is an straight-out hit for NBC and have already been renewed for a summertime return, where it may be joined by either or both Duel and Million Dollar Password. CW brought out 8-episodes of so-bad-it's-good Crowned: The Mother of All Beauty Pageants in December and immediately began casting for season 2. Dance Wars, another 6-episode short-run series, opened well and we may well see a 2nd rhythm of that. Meanwhile, rudiment have completed unfastened phone calls for its newest entry in the dance milieu, All The Right Moves.

The motion on constituted series have been nil short of breath-taking. The downtime between rhythms for world series have shortened, with the Biggest Loser being the accepted champ. Season 5 of the NBC weight-loss competition premiered January 1/08, 2 hebdomads to the twenty-four hours after the stopping point of season 4, and casting for Biggest Loser 6 is currently underway. The Bachelor have moved from a 6-month slowdown between rhythms to something closer to 18 weeks. The mid-season Prime Ministers of new seasons of Wife Barter and Supernanny were moved up to December.

Even The Apprentice is doing well. If that doesn't frighten the writers, nil will. And to do substances worse, mega-star American Idol is back, with the hound dogs of author Hell on its tail:

Survivor (CBS, February)

Big Brother (CBS, February)

Pussycat Dolls 2: Girlicious (CW, February)

Dancing With The Stars (ABC, March)

America's Adjacent Top Model (CW, March)

Beauty and the Eccentric (CW, March).

The hebdomad Of January 13th, Fox broadcasted 15 hours of prime-time programming. Eight hours were unscripted - 4 hours of American Idol and one each of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, Don't Forget The Lyrics, bulls and America's Most Wanted.

"In every other state in the world, the bulk of prime-time scheduling is unscripted," said Ben Silverman. Soon - within the adjacent few calendar months - that volition change, likely forever.