The Writers Guild of America strike is at the center of all major entertainment news vehicles, primarily because it has disrupted work on television shows, be they old or new, high-rated or low-rated, even causing some to halt production.  Some networks, however, have run into the fortunate luck of having several scripts at hand for some of their other shows, scripts that will last them until January. One of these shows is NBC's Las Vegas.

According to USA Today, the series released their 19th script yesterday, and if the cast continues to show up for production (fans, keep your fingers crossed), then NBC has little to worry about until early next year.

However, should the cast decide to join the writers on the picket lines, then NBC's Las Vegas will suffer the same fate as its brethren, The Office, and ABC's Grey's Anatomy, hit shows that have been shut down not only because of the absence of a writing staff, but also the lack of principal cast members, some of whom have joined the strike.

While NBC can still rest easy with Las Vegas, a dramedy that stars Josh Duhamel, Tom Selleck, Molly Sims, Vanessa Marcil, James Lesure and Camille Guaty, it's facing trouble with The Office and another one of its hit show's, Heroes.  As it stands now, the network's Emmy Award-winning comedy series only has one more new episode left to air, while its sci-fi drama's second and current season may end as early as December 3.

Other networks are also busy trying to cope with the effects of the writers' strike.  On Wednesday, FOX announced a winter lineup without the hit drama 24, which will sit out the strike until it's over.  The network is, however, relying on two new reality series, The Moment of Truth and When the Women Rule the World, to fill its airwaves early next year.

New episodes of FOX's Prison Break, Back to You and House have been scheduled to air early next year as well, but the network's program planning chief Preston Beckman was quick to say that all this could change the moment the strike is declared over.

ABC's Cashmere Mafia, which was supposed to premiere on November 27, has been shelved, but the network still intends to air an eight-episode half-season of the hit show, Lost.  CBS, meanwhile, still has four to six episodes of its CSI trio left to air.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist  
Source: USA Today        
(Image Courtesy of NBC)