Writers Firing Complaints at ‘Line’

“Whose Line Is It Anyway?” hasn’t been a ratings juggernaut for ABC, but the improvisational comedy series has performed well enough to earn an early renewal for next season. In addition to being a sleeper hit since debuting in the summer of 1998, “Whose Line” has the benefit of being cheap to produce, not least because the talented actors improvise all of their lines, and thus the show has no need for a writing staff.

Or does it?

That’s at the heart of a dispute between the show’s producers and the Writers Guild of America.

An American version of the popular British series, “Whose Line” features a rotating cast of improvisational actors who, prompted by suggestions from host Drew Carey and the audience, act out scenes and perform songs, making up the dialogue and action on the spot.

But a source close to the show says that “Whose Line” does employ writers to come up with the ideas that Carey gives the performers. They are called “production consultants,” the source charges, to avoid paying standard network health and pension benefits and to keep a greater share of residual fees. The WGA is attempting to have these jobs covered by the union.

Riverside Productions, which produces “Whose Line” in association with Hat Trick Productions, declined to comment on the specifics of the dispute, but a producer formerly involved with the show questions whether the guild has jurisdiction over the employees supplying the improvisational prompts.

Riverside issued a two-sentence statement saying that the program “was designed to be an unscripted, improvisational show” and that Riverside “has agreed to meet with the Writers Guild in the near future regarding representation for this genre of show.” The company does have union agreements with the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists covering the performers and with the Directors Guild of America.

The debate is similar to those popping up on other fronts as the renewed popularity of prime-time game shows and the influx of hybrid comedy-variety series gives rise to accusations among writers that some of these programs keep production costs low by skirting WGA contracts. Such is the case with ABC’s breakout hit “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” hosted by Regis Philbin, and cable fare like Comedy Central’s joke-filled game show “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” which has won two daytime Emmys but pays its writers on a nonunion basis.

Both “Millionaire” and “Win Ben Stein’s Money” are produced by Valleycrest Productions. Valleycrest is affiliated with Buena Vista Television, a production unit of the Walt Disney Co. “Whose Line” is produced by Riverside Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. Guild members contend studios often use such independent production houses to distance themselves from producer accountability.

Indeed, to some, the spate of nonunion, alternative programming on broadcast networks and cable is nothing more complicated than corporate greed. But others maintain that the issue is not that clear-cut. Writing for a game show or comedy-variety show, they say, is vastly different from writing on a sitcom or drama, where writers’ roles are better defined. On a sitcom, for instance, separate credit (and payment) is given for writing a script and coming up with a story line. In addition to health and pension benefits, writers also receive additional income--residual payments--when their shows appear in reruns.

The Dec. 30 episode of “Whose Line,” a rerun, features a rap song about summer camp and a “Let’s Make a Date” sketch in which cast members Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles play a medieval torture victim and a vulture, respectively. While the content of the sketches depends solely on the cast members’ quick wit and ingenuity, the scenarios that lead to the improvisation do not, says the show source, adding that writers sometimes come up with jokes for Carey and write some of his hosting segues.

Carey, who is also one of the show’s executive producers, declined to comment, as did Warner Bros. One veteran producer of comedy-variety series notes that “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” falls between the cracks of what is normally considered writing. “The guild wants to expand its field of influence, but it’s a gray area,” says George Schlatter, whose credits include “Real People” and “Laugh-In.”

Grace Reiner, director of contract administration at the WGA, concedes that “Whose Line” is “an odd kind of show,” a comedy-variety series with minimal writing. But, she says, the producers approached the guild when the show was launched, only to decide not to negotiate with the WGA.

“They said, ‘Well, I don’t think we need writers that badly,’ ” Reiner said.

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As an executive at ABC, Michael Davies helped bring “Whose Line” to network TV; today, he is the executive producer of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” another British show turned American hit. In England, Davies says, “Whose Line” producers contribute the ideas for sketch scenarios, and he disagrees that such work should be deemed writing.

“The show has a host who, on the whole, improvises his links, and . . . a lot of the suggestions for the games come from the audience [members] themselves. The only other writing is suggestions of characters the performers are going to play. I think that’s a producing skill.”

The WGA is also seeking a contract for the writers on “Millionaire,” which since debuting in August has become the biggest story of the television season. Initially, Davies says, the producers balked at signing a WGA contract because the future of “Millionaire” was up in the air. Now, with ABC set to run “Millionaire” three times a week, negotiations have rekindled.

Davies doesn’t deny that the show depends on its writers, who despite being nonunion are paid above guild minimums, he adds. But because the WGA has been slow to recruit new quiz show writers into its ranks, he says, “Millionaire,” which is taped in New York, has by necessity used nonunion writers.

“There isn’t a core membership of the guild in New York who are looking to write for these programs,” he said. “Increasingly, the power base of the guild is half-hour sitcoms, one-hour dramas, telefilms and movies. I don’t think the quiz show writers have been their biggest concern over the last 10 years. The majority of shows in this area, especially as they’ve migrated to the daytime and cable and syndication markets, are non-guild.”

But the WGA’s Reiner notes that many game shows are guild signatories, under the quiz and audience participation category. These include the syndicated “Jeopardy!” and “Hollywood Squares,” as well as two new network shows--”Greed,” which has performed well for Fox, and NBC’s forthcoming “Twenty-One,” set to debut Jan. 9. The original “Twenty-One” witnessed the scripted game show taken to scandalous extremes, when the producers rigged things for golden-boy contestant Charles Van Doren. The revival, of course, won’t rely on rigged characters. But the show’s executive producer, Fred Silverman, says his writers will be just as integral to the drama.

“You need writers to write questions and for show continuity, which means a script that takes you from one segment to the other. It’s very important. You want good questions, and you want them to be written in a very entertaining manner. That’s an art in and of itself.”