Day 6 of the Writers Guild strike started with 102 members of “The Office” being fired.
The hit NBC comedy shut down this week, and as a result, more than 100 below the line employees from grips and camera assistants to hairstylists and set dressers were given pink slips.
In addition, the peacock network also informed the nonwriting staff of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” that it would be laid off next Friday if the strike doesn’t end. And since Leno has already gone public refusing to cross the picket line, show producers are looking at alternative ways of keeping nonwriters on staff from getting axed. One idea that has been getting a ton of press is the use of guest hosts. By having another famous face fill-in for Leno during the strike (presumably this will begin on November 19th) the show can save the jobs of the nonwriters.
“All sorts of things are being discussed, including guest hosts,” Tonight Show’s executive producer told news reporters. “Our preference is that we return to production of The Tonight Show with Jay as host as soon as possible.”
The same scenario is being played out at “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” According to insiders, that show’s nonwriters also face layoffs at the end of next week.
If you’ve tuned in to any of the late-night shows this week you know that they have gone into repeats since the strike began Monday. The hosts of the popular shows walked out in solidarity with their writing staffs and consequently the programs shut down. Which means the networks need to cut costs and they are now doing so by laying off staff members.
The decision to fire staff members so quickly further angered writers on the picket lines. (I’m sure they can’t be happy that their decision to strike is causing hundreds to lose their jobs.) Striking writers at NBC also revealed that the network cut off all access to their corporate e-mail accounts and other network privileges.
Over at ABC don’t look for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to come out of repeats anytime soon. The outspoken host has been very vocal about backing his writers. Kimmel made headlines a few days ago when he rented a taco truck and drove around to picket sites in Los Angeles.
Johnny Carson and David Letterman both came back to TV during the 1988 writers’ strike, but it doesn’t look like Leno and Kimmel are compelled to do the same this time around.
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