For show runners, time to write a new beginning
Four executives welcome the end of the strike and start planning for what comes after 'to be continued.'
With the writers strike drawing to a formal close, Hollywood's show runners are heading back to work -- some as early as today. Here's a look at four high-profile creators who are looking to pick up where they left off:
Greg Garcia, the creator and show runner of "My Name Is Earl," is a very funny man. But he's not playing.
His network, NBC, and studio, 20th Century Fox Television, have told him they would like to air as many new episodes of his single-camera comedy as possible by May 15. At best, that would be nine episodes -- and Garcia is going to give it his best shot. How will he spend today, his first day back in the office?
"I'm in a position where I want to have a table read a week from Tuesday and start shooting two weeks from tomorrow. We had two first drafts of scripts, so I'm going to read over those and see where we're at because I haven't even looked at them. I'm going to look at some other stuff to see what we have left in the way of stories. But the majority of my day will be figuring out the schedule, booking out directors, talking to casting -- to hopefully get all the scheduling stuff out of the way so when the writers come on Wednesday, I can concentrate on the writing."
The show's 17 writers are excited to return to work, Garcia said. "But I'm sure there's going to be a little bit of shock of reentry after having been off work and having this big thing take over your life for three months and all of a sudden, guess what? You're sitting on a couch trying to come up with the next story. And be funny too."
First order of business: "I'm having a very specific no-talk-about-the-strike policy at work," he said.
And what happens if you slip?
"You're fired!" he said. "You're back on strike! That's what's going to happen . . . leading up to the strike for two months, that's all I heard coming out of the writers' room. And that's all I've heard about for the last three months. And now it's over. I'm not going to sit and listen to them talk about it now. If you say the word 'strike' and you're not talking about bowling, you're fired."
One potential crisis: If "My Name Is Earl" begins shooting in two weeks, will star Jason Lee have enough time to grow back his moustache? Lee typically shaves it when he's on hiatus.
"There was some concern if the strike was going to be short, but that went away around December," Garcia said. "So, yeah, he just grows a beard, but the moustache is in there somewhere. We just have to go in and find it when we need it.
