If TV Writers Work Extra Now, Will They Pay Later in a Strike?

With a potential strike by the Writers Guild of America still nine months in the future, television writers are nevertheless discussing a clear and present dilemma--whether or not to churn out additional scripts of situation comedies and dramas this season, extra work that would enable writers to pocket more money up front but could also damage their bargaining power with studios and networks during a protracted strike.

The widespread talk in the TV industry of “stockpiling” scripts prompted John Wells, WGA president and the executive producer of three prime-time series, NBC’s “The West Wing,” “ER” and “Third Watch,” to write a letter to guild members last week urging them not to cooperate with extra episode orders. Wells, like many in television, wears the hat of both writer and producer.

“I have been approached about delivering extra episodes, and I do not plan to cooperate with a tactic that could be used to undermine guild unity and possibly lengthen the time it would be necessary for us to remain out on strike,” Wells wrote. He noted that similar talk of stockpiling preceded the writers’ strike of 1988 and “was just that, talk--and impractical talk at that.”

At issue for the WGA is financial compensation. At issue for TV viewers is the prospect of a summer and fall 2001 stuffed with reality series, newsmagazines and movies--and the absence of favorite series that could damage the broadcast networks’ already fractured hold on audiences.

John McLean, the WGA’s West Coast executive director and a former CBS executive, expressed skepticism about TV writers turning out extra scripts en masse, giving studios and networks less incentive to settle a dispute. “The fact of the matter is, it’s a creative process, and it’s very difficult to make 22 episodes [of a show],” he said. “To turn around say, ‘OK, let’s pop another six out the door’ after 22 is not very easy.”

But NBC says it has ordered extra scripts of the legal dramas “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” putting the total script order for each show at 30 this season. Dick Wolf, executive producer of both series, said no deal with the network was in place but that “creatively, on a script basis, it wouldn’t be a stretch for us.”

About the prospect for a writers strike, Wolf was more emphatic: “There was a phrase during the Cold War, MAD--Mutually Assured Destruction. I have been vociferous that a strike could be devastating to the industry,” he said. “There aren’t that many people who are working right now who recall with laser-like clarity the strike in 1988.”

Contract negotiations among the guild and studio and network producers, it should be said, haven’t even begun. The WGA, whose contract expires May 1, wants changes in the compensation screenwriters and television writers receive when their work appears on cable TV or overseas, two markets that have exploded in the last decade. Distribution over the Internet, an emerging media whose potential is still largely unknown, is another concern.

The same issues are at the heart of a potential strike by the Screen Actors Guild, whose contract expires July 1. A strike by both guilds would cripple the entertainment industry, having a ripple effect on the local economy, sidelining production crews, forcing smaller talent agencies--with the flow of commissions cut off--to resort to layoffs and hurting service providers ranging from caterers to hair stylists. Already, the strike by commercial actors with SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is in its fifth month.

In his letter to WGA members, TV producer Wells labeled the decision to write extra scripts “one of individual conscience.” Some writers note that Wells is powerful enough to take a principled stance at a time when rank-and-file TV writers feel under siege from various angles, most notably the success of unscripted game show and “reality” programs like CBS’ “Survivor” and ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox all have more reality series set to roll out this year and next, and writers fear this spells fewer and fewer job opportunities in prime time.

More Scripts: Old Issue With New Overtones

Even without the dark cloud of a work stoppage on the horizon, networks and studios have been pushing for years to get more than the traditional yearly quota of 22 episodes out of the writer-producers of their hit TV programs. Networks want more episodes because it enables them to air fewer reruns; studios want more shows because it means a program can get to 100 episodes more quickly--the magic number studios need to sell shows into syndication.

But this season the stockpiling issue has different overtones. The requests are larger than usual, and there’s a prevailing sense among writers that such work will come back to haunt them should a strike drag on through the summer. As one writer put it: “If the automobile workers were ever going on strike, do you think they’d say, ‘Let’s step up production so the company has new cars next year?’ ”

Writing an extra six episodes of the CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” for instance, potentially means helping CBS launch a new fall season--and sell hundreds of millions of dollars in advance advertising time--with the writers still on strike come September 2001.

“Why would I help [CBS] when I think what the writers are asking for is reasonable?” said Phil Rosenthal, the show’s co-creator and executive producer. Rosenthal said “Raymond” has produced as many as 26 episodes in a season, which he says makes it difficult to maintain the sitcom’s quality. “They’ve wanted extra episodes of the show before and I’ve told them no because it’s physically too hard to do. That’ll be my excuse this time.”

“We’re saying we’re not going to do it. It’s borderline scabbing,” added another executive producer of a prime-time sitcom, requesting anonymity.

But there is hardly unity on the issue, particularly among those writers for whom an extra month of work means tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars--money needed for mortgage payments and school tuitions for their children.

“I think most writers presented with the option, would you rather work another six weeks or be out 30% of your income next year--I think they’d opt for the former,” said one producer.

Bruce Helford, co-creator and executive producer of the ABC sitcom “The Drew Carey Show,” says he and Carey have discussed making additional episodes of the sitcom this season to help others on their show bolster their strike funds. “He and I can survive a strike,” Helford said, referring to Carey. “But what about our crew? Shouldn’t we help them get some money in the bank?”

Typically, Helford says, “The Drew Carey Show” is in production through April and has produced as many as 28 episodes in a season. Helford, who executive-produces two other sitcoms, ABC’s “Norm” and the WB’s “Nikki,” and who has an animated series in the works at the WB, added: “Everybody will make the argument that they’re tired. Believe me, by May, I will have produced almost 100 episodes of TV shows. But that doesn’t mean individual episodes couldn’t be done.”

Doom and Gloom Are in the Air

Most returning sitcoms go into production in August and wrap in March or April, leaving some with four to six weeks to write and/or produce additional episodes before the WGA contract expires. Some are skeptical that episodes would be shot after May 1, without the writers around, particularly on staff-written comedies. Producing extra installments of hourlong dramas is even more problematic logistically.

“It’s going to be impossible to bank dramas,” said one high-ranking network source, adding that his network could stockpile episodes of returning comedies. The executive drew a picture of a strike-altered fall 2001 schedule composed of new reality series, newsmagazines, more movies and new comedies and dramas, with banked episodes of a few returning shows. In fact, sources say there has been discussion of ordering some new series earlier than usual this year and rushing them into production as an additional hedge.

Among writers, meanwhile, the general tenor of doom and gloom has not only overshadowed the fact that the two sides haven’t begun negotiating but also spun out into other worries. Some in Hollywood believe, for instance, that the studios and networks want to force a strike, allowing them to purge writers under contract being paid six- and seven-figure contracts who aren’t being productive. In 1988, studios took advantage of the strike to get out of many deals and cut their expenses.

But under the WGA “suspend and extend” agreement, studios can’t simply terminate a writer during a guild strike. Instead, deals are suspended for the duration of the strike, at the end of which the studio can either add on the lost months to a writer’s deal or subtract the same period of time.

Any delayed stoppage could also have long-term consequences for broadcasters, who are currently riding a wave of financial success. For the 1988-89 TV season, coinciding with the last strike, ratings dropped a steep 9% compared to the previous year.

“In ‘88, they lost audience that they never got back,” said Bob Myman, a partner in the entertainment law firm Myman, Abell, Fineman, Greenspan & Light in Brentwood.

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Times staff writer Brian Lowry contributed to this story.