A SPECIAL REPORT: T.V.’s SLOW SEASON

STAR TREK: Once their hit shows head into reruns, sitcom stars like Tim Allen and Kelsey Grammer often fill their down months making movies. But for many Valley businesses associated with fall TV series, the spring-to-summer hiatus is a time of uncertainty. The Carsey-Werner Co., the Studio City producer of “Roseanne” and “Cybill,” has about 300 seasonal employees who, come mid-April, will be taken off the payroll until the cameras roll again in late July.

GRACE UNDER FIRE: Glendale publicist Marcy DeVeaux says the sudden quiet that descended on her office last year once “The Sinbad Show” and “Beekman’s World” wrapped “was a shock.” “Not only were the phones not ringing, but all our accounts were coming to a screaming halt, so there was no money coming in.” . . . Luckily, one of DeVeaux’s employees took an extended vacation and another volunteered to work part-time.

GALLOPING GOURMET: Bruce’s Gourmet Catering of North Hollywood feeds the crews and casts of “NYPD Blue,” “Chicago Hope,” and “Sister, Sister” on location. . . . But after 16 years in business, owner Bruce Hecker, above, no longer frets about how to survive the slow spring. “I’ve done a lot of weddings and parties for people I’ve met through the business,” he said. Idle actors often work for him as waiters.

SOMETHING WILDER: Video editing companies such as Burbank’s Absolute Post find supplemental work doing cable TV movies, interactive computer games and home videocassettes, says General Manager Eddie Ackerman. . . . Yet he says there’s still a sigh of relief when autumn comes. “Hiatus is one of those dreaded diseases in Hollywood.”

FAMILY TIES: Some series regulars take their own break when their shows go on hiatus. . . . “When you normally work 14-hour days, you need time to recoup and to spend some time with your family,” said Kate Bangs, a set designer on “My So-Called Life” who is using this break to oversee repairs on her earthquake-damaged home.