Early Victim of Strike: ‘Office’ Originals End Next Week
By Brian Stelter
Production on “The Office” was halted Tuesday after many staffers, including the lead actor Steve Carell, did not show up for work. (NBC)
Television viewers are beginning to get a better sense of how the writers’ strike will affect their favorite shows. Original half-hour episodes of NBC’s hit half-hour comedy “The Office” will stop being shown after next week.
Steve Carell showed solidarity with the striking writers. A publicist for Mr. Carell said he had no comment about the strike.
Production on “The Office” was shut down on Tuesday, after the writers, several of whom are also actors on the show, began picketing and Steve Carell, the lead actor, refused to cross picket lines. Only two new episodes are ready for broadcast, so “The Office” will enter repeats after the Nov. 15 episode.
Picketing in Burbank on Wednesday, Greg Daniels, an executive producer of “The Office,” explained why he was helping force a halt to production.
“When we were in the 10th grade reading Mark Twain and dreaming about being a writer, none of us were thinking about residuals or payments for DVDs or anything like that,” Mr. Daniels said. “I suppose the reason people should care about this is because the television networks get their broadcast licenses from the government. They are supposed to create public culture. Instead, they are taking the attitude of ‘We will crush you’ toward the people who create their programming. They are talking of canceling scripted programming and replacing it with reality programs. I think that is not in the public interest.”
In a blog entry on MySpace, Dan Beals, a production staffer for “The Office,” said the crew waited for seven hours on Tuesday before Universal Media Studios decided to shut down production.
After expressing support for the strikers, Mr. Beals wrote: “As for me, it’s back to the unemployment line.”
–Edward Wyatt contributed reporting.
Tags: greg daniels, nbc, steve carell, strike, the office, wga
By Brian Stelter
Production on “The Office” was halted Tuesday after many staffers, including the lead actor Steve Carell, did not show up for work. (NBC)
Television viewers are beginning to get a better sense of how the writers’ strike will affect their favorite shows. Original half-hour episodes of NBC’s hit half-hour comedy “The Office” will stop being shown after next week.
Steve Carell showed solidarity with the striking writers. A publicist for Mr. Carell said he had no comment about the strike.
Production on “The Office” was shut down on Tuesday, after the writers, several of whom are also actors on the show, began picketing and Steve Carell, the lead actor, refused to cross picket lines. Only two new episodes are ready for broadcast, so “The Office” will enter repeats after the Nov. 15 episode.
Picketing in Burbank on Wednesday, Greg Daniels, an executive producer of “The Office,” explained why he was helping force a halt to production.
“When we were in the 10th grade reading Mark Twain and dreaming about being a writer, none of us were thinking about residuals or payments for DVDs or anything like that,” Mr. Daniels said. “I suppose the reason people should care about this is because the television networks get their broadcast licenses from the government. They are supposed to create public culture. Instead, they are taking the attitude of ‘We will crush you’ toward the people who create their programming. They are talking of canceling scripted programming and replacing it with reality programs. I think that is not in the public interest.”
In a blog entry on MySpace, Dan Beals, a production staffer for “The Office,” said the crew waited for seven hours on Tuesday before Universal Media Studios decided to shut down production.
After expressing support for the strikers, Mr. Beals wrote: “As for me, it’s back to the unemployment line.”
–Edward Wyatt contributed reporting.
Tags: greg daniels, nbc, steve carell, strike, the office, wga
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