Reported Breakthrough In WGA Strike

Ugly Betty fans – let’s cross our fingers!  The New York Times is reporting that a tentative agreement between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could come as early as this coming week. 

Now, I know we’ve been burned by this sort of thing before, however, when the NYT and the LA Times start pass along that their sources confirm the kind-of imminent deal, we have cause for optimism.  Apparently, the breakthrough occurred Friday after two weeks of closed-door discussions between the sides.  The last sticking point seemed to be compensation for ad-supported television programs that are streamed over the Internet after their initial broadcast (like Ugly Betty).  How the issue was resolved (if it really was) is unclear.

Even if the WGA strike is resolved, the Screen Actors Guild still has yet to hammer out a deal with the producers.  But, the dominoes may be falling.

If and when the WGA strike ends, the question of Ugly Betty resuming production for this season is still very much up in the air.  There is a chance that a season could be restarted and stretched until June, but the actors may not like having to work in a time that is usually reserved for personal vacations and time off.  And, let’s be honest, new episodes of Ugly Betty this spring will go up against the behemoth American Idol. 

But, there are also 10 million viewers that are dying to know what’s going to happen with Henry and Betty, Gio, Wilhelmina’s baby, Christina’s husband, Daniel and Alexis’ power struggle, HotFlash, the musical episode, and whether LiLo is going to guest star.

I will keep on top of developments, and pass them along as soon as I can.  Stay tuned!

Source: New York Times