Well, I hadn't realized when I talked earlier, but it turns out a lot of writer-producers have clauses in their contracts stating they can't work on the internet except as part of the contracting employer's own efforts.
For instance, if a writer-producer was contracted with ABC, they can't work for anything but ABC web efforts. And since Disney/ABCis a struck company, they can't work for anyone then.
Now, they are talking about the studios using force majeur clauses that kick in after six weeks (in general, it will vary by specific contract) that void the contracts to get rid of some folks that they have been wanting to get rid of anyways. But they don't have to, and in some cases they may want to keep writer-producers under contract for no other reason to keep them from doing anything else. But on the bright side, that means they keep on getting paid (for the producer half of their job, at least)
So we may not see all of our favorite writers do anything other than catch up on their comic work in this time...
That is my limited understanding of the situation, of course. People with first hand knowledge, please feel free to correct me...
Part of the difference between Casualty and ER will be the budget, Fay. I don't have figures to hand, but I'm willing to bet ER is a $2m an episode or so production (if not more), which would likely pay for several series of Casualty with the BBC.
Certainly, when you look at Doctor Who - a show which has ratings Tim's networks could only dream of, in a country with a fifth of the population - that shows' budget is tiny. If you are wondering why, at the height of it's rating success it's shutting down production - a situation you would never get in the US - I think we can all work out why the people involved in a hit worldwide TV show might be looking elsewhere.
And all power to them. I would, too.
Tamara i tried to watch an ep of Blood Ties and i was supremely bored. not nearly enough vampire for me.
But when he is there, he is very pretty. That's enough. I'm easy.
Just heard - NBC have put Alyson Hannigan on unpaid leave over How I Met Your Mother. The SAG are up in arms as it violates everything, apparently. She's still under an exclusivity deal, but isn't being paid.
ETA: [link]
Kevin, I don't think HIMYM is NBC.
I want to say it's CBS, but Tivo has pretty much destroyed my ability to remember what's on which channel.
Regardless, the article Kevin linked to says it's the production studio, Sony, not the network.
That's odd because, well, I wouldn't expect an actor to have to be paid if production has been shut down.
Somebody scrape me out of the bowl..
Polter-Cow, SAG have this to say: [link]
