The writers’ strike may be behind us now, but the Hollywood community is still feeling the affects, particularly the financial ones. That’s why the writers of your favorite shows, including Howard Gordon of 24, have banded together to host a benefit poker tournament in Hollywood today.

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With a final approval vote of 92.5%, the members of the Writers Guild of America officially lifted the strike, allowing writers to return to work.  The strike lasted over 100 days and is estimated to have cost the Los Angeles economy over $2 billion dollars.

While 24 may not return until 2009, keep coming back to 24headquarters for news and spoilers.

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It’s finally happening, the WGA agreed to a tentative deal late Saturday. The deal language has been hammered out WGA members will vote within the next 48 hours as to finally lift the strike. Nikki Finke is reporting that work could go back to normal as early as Wednesday.

Expect networks to release updated post strike schedules over the next few weeks, but just because the strike is over, doesn’t mean that 24 will be returning anytime soon. Due to the intensely serialized nature of the show, odds are Fox will put it into production immediately, but according to TV Guide, don’t expect any new episodes until January 2009.

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Good news folks, sources are saying that negotiations have been going very well between the WGA and the AMPTP since informal talks resumed a few weeks ago. Nikki Finke is even reporting that Fox’s head honcho, Peter Chernin, could be heard telling buddies at the Superbowl that the deal was done. Michael Ausiello is even saying that both Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives have scheduled when shooting will resume.

There’s no news on how quickly 24 would go back into production, but I would expect that if a deal is made, Fox would announce both a premiere date for the show, and a return to production. Let’s be optimistic and hope that all happen soon.

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24 director/executive producer Jon Cassar, has posted a show update on his blog, saying, “I was hoping that FOX comes up with an alternative to airing us in 2009, and now there is a rumor that has us airing a half season in the fall.” First Mary Lynn Rajskub had no info, now Jon Cassar’s in the same position. He also says that nothing will be decided (even airing a half season), until the strike is over.

He did however give a status update on how many episodes had been finished, saying, “Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 are complete. Sound fx and music included and they look great. When the strike hit we were just starting to shoot Episodes 7 & 8. They are now shot and in the can.” This just confirms what we all thought about 8 episodes being completed.

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Janeane Garofalo will join Family Guy writers/cast members Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein at “An Evening with Family Guy’s Alex Borstein & Seth MacFarlane.” The event is described as “one-night-only evening of music and comedy will include wild renditions of pop anthems and musical theatre numbers.” One can only assume Garofalo’s portion will be more comedy than musical.

The show is a benefit for those involved with the writers’ strike including the Writers Guild of America, East Strike Fund and the Actors Fund. It is scheduled for January 31st at 8pm. Tickets are available online at CarnegieHall.org.

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24 Executive Producer Howard Gordon has taken part in a recent WGA initiative, Why We Write.  Posted on Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, Why We Write is a series of essays written by prominent Hollywood writers talking about why they write.  Gordon wrote essay #3 in the series.  His essay is below:

I remember being in a writers’ room a few years ago, and someone - a brilliant and famous writer whose name I’ll keep to myself for now - rhapsodized about the exquisite ecstasy of the writing process. “Don’t you love it when you get lost inside the story, and the characters start speaking for themselves, and you look up and realize eight hours have passed?” I nodded dumbly, and smiled. Because I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about.

I’ve never had that experience. Never. Me, I’m a grinder. And a second-guesser. Since I can remember, I have suffered from some undiagnosed combination of OCD and ADD which causes me to spend hours on a preposition. Which is a long-winded way to describe this simple truth: I hate writing. I really do. Even writing this short essay is excruciating. Every word weighs on me like a millstone. Every. Single. Word.

What makes the process even more excruciating is that I am my own worst critic. No one has more contempt for my work than me. So studio and network notes are usually a cakewalk. Whatever they dish out, chances are I’ve already dished out for myself and come back for seconds.

So why do I write? Because as much as I hate writing, I love having written. All the pain suddenly falls away when the dialogue turns from a bunch of words under a character name into the living voices of real people, and the plot becomes more than just a series of events, but a story worth telling. However we get there, if we’re lucky, eventually we get there. Word by word. Line by line.

I write because it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. Not a day goes by that I don’t appreciate what a privilege it is to be a member of this profession. I suppose in some way, being a writer is the buy-in that allows me to enjoy the company and respect of my fellow writers. To count so many professional writers as friends and colleagues is one of my proudest accomplishments. I may not enjoy the creative process as much as my unnamed colleague, but I’d wager my WGA pension that I get every bit as much pleasure from my final draft – which only makes me want to belly up to the laptop and do it all over again.

It’s inevitable that when the lead star of a TV series goes to prison that people can’t help but wonder how it will affect their favorite show. Well 24 fans, don’t worry.

Kiefer Sutherland was originally scheduled to go to jail the week of December 21st, which would have coincided with 24’s Christmas break. He surrendered himself two weeks early because the writers’ strike led to production on the show being halted, even though there were more scripts in the bank.

It’s now clear that there is no resolution in sight for the strike, since the AMPTP called off negotiations entirely last Friday. It’s looking like the earliest possible resolution would be mid/late January, and by that time, Kiefer would already be out of jail and shooting could resume. This would unfortunately rule out any likelihood of 24 returning to Fox’s schedule in early 2008 and at this point it’s looking like the show will return either Fall 08, or even as far as January 09. Therefore, any delay in 24 airing has nothing to do with Kiefer Sutherland’s prison sentence, and everything to do with the prolonged writers’ strike.

(Editor’s note, don’t bash the writers in the comments people, it’s not cool.)

Howard Gordon spoke exclusively to the LA Times about FOX’s decision to delay the premiere of 24 until the writers strike is resolved. Gordon told the Times that he hopes the longer wait for episodes will only get fans more excited, saying, “Hopefully it will have the same effect it had on ‘The Sopranos’ and it will whet fans’ appetites even more. I really appreciate the integrity [Fox and 20th Century Fox Television] have toward the show. The only other alternative was a shortened order. Airing 23 episodes of a show called ‘24′ would have felt like less than the optimal way to present the show.”

Gordon also spoke about the possibility of 24 being shown in two segments (much like Lost last year and Heroes this year), “It really depends on when the strike is resolved and what the optimum window is. I hope it’s not an entire year. You get impatient doing the show. You want people to see it. It’s disappointing obviously as well. You’ve worked on a show. You really look forward to having people see it and respond to it.” All of Howard Gordon’s comments were made from the picket lines, where he is supporting the WGA strike.

I think FOX knows splitting 24 would be a very bad idea. The producers of Lost chose to make their upcoming season a shorter, but consecutive 16 episodes because the fan response to splitting the show into two segments last year was so negative. 24 relies on consecutive episodes even more so than Lost, so it would be difficult to imagine FOX making such a decision.

I’ve noticed some confusion in the comments for any strike post that I’ve put up, people still don’t really understand why writers are striking. Here’s the two big things writers are asking for:

• An increase of 4 cents(from 4 to for each DVD sold with their content. That’s right, on a DVD valued at $19.99, writers get 4 cents.
• Secondly, they want to receive revenue from new media, ie streaming video on websites, webisodes, etc. Studios claim episodes streaming on websites is for promotional purposes, even though they sell ad content. As for content that they’re charging for, like iTunes or Amazon downloads, writers have been shut out of the proceeds entirely. Writers are asking that for any content online, they receive the same payment they would if it were to air on tv, 2.5% of revenue earned.

I know it can be confusing, that’s why I encourage everyone to watch the following WGA produced video detailing why they’re on strike. It’s extremely easy to understand, and should clear up any confusion you may have:

A lot of you are frustrated at the possibility of your favourite show stopping production, or running out of episodes in the new year, but I think it’s important for all us to be informed.