The New York Times published an article today about the future for Saturday Night Live post-strike.  Being a live show, with a quick production schedule, SNL will be returning much sooner than other scripted shows-- this weekend, in fact -- although the line-up of guests for the next few months is somewhat "murky."

One bright spot? Steve Carell is set to host in May to coincide with the release of his big budget remake of GET SMART.

Thanks to listener Joe Bidinger for tipping me off that today-- February 15th -- is "International 'That's What She Said!'" day.

Organized by Facebook, ITWSSD asks you to spend your time today trying your best to inject the famous TWSS! into any and all random conversations you may come across that require its insertion.

Try not to hurt yourselves.

A little more specific information on when THE OFFICE will return, and how many episodes we should expect.

From the New York Times article today:

Greg Daniels, executive producer of “The Office,? said, “We’re going to do another six,? though he added, “We might be able to squeeze in seven if NBC asks for them.?

“The Office? had a script ready to shoot the week the strike began, and that will be the first one the show produces. A second script was going to be the Christmas show. “We’re going to throw that one out,? Mr. Daniels said. He added that the writing team would discuss this week how to advance the show’s story lines.

“I’m tempted to just leap ahead to where we would have been,? Mr. Daniels said.


Well... not quite the ten episodes I was hoping for, but I suppose six (or hopefully seven) episodes are definitely better than nothing.  I know that it's not exactly "April" material, but I find it a crying shame that this year's Christmas show will just end up in the garbage bin. 

So let's assume that Daniels and the writers decide to incorporate the strike gap INTO the actual storyline... another 3 month "fast forward" like we usually get over the summer? That would definitely be kind of weird... man, I can just see it now-- we come back from break, and Pam and Jim are already broken up. 

They can't be THAT evil, would they?

EDIT:

The AP posted a brief comment from Rainn Wilson today, regarding the end of the strike:

Rainn Wilson, a Writers Guild member and co-star of "The Office," said he was hearing that everyone on the show will report back on March 10 to shoot six more episodes.

Early on, the strike was a hiatus from the daily grind for some. By Tuesday night's overwhelming vote to end the walkout, it was clear they were eager to get back to work.

"The break has been long enough," Wilson said. "Everyone slyly around December was like, 'Actually, this is kind of cool.' Then it was January, February, you know, so we're ready to get back."

Thanks to occasional co-host Drew for the link to TV Guide's Ausiello Report.  Not sure if there's a better or more comprehensive list out there somewhere, but click HERE to see a list of when our favorite shows will return and how many episodes we can expect to see once production resumes.

As for THE OFFICE:

The Office
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

I'm sure Office Tally will get more detailed information sometime soon.

I have to say that if  we DO get the max 10 more new episodes, the season won't have been a total waste (and besides, who wants to buy an 8 episode DVD of season 4? :))... that will put us at a respectable 18 episodes, with 4  hour shows thrown in... not too bad all told for a 3 month strike.

As expected, the contract was presented to the WGA at yesterday's meeting.  As of right now, there is a 48-hour vote taking place to lift the strike.  What that means is that if this passes, the writers could be back to work as early as WEDNESDAY.

This *ISN'T* a vote on the contract... just a vote to lift the strike.  The contract vote will have a 10 day voting window.  If they DON'T vote to lift the strike, the contract vote will still go forward... so essentially they could approve the contract, yet NOT lift the strike until it is approved.  This current vote seems to be just a show of good faith and a more or less "yes, we're going to agree to the contract" kind of thing.

The buzz was that the strike was winding down to a resolution, and it looks like it could indeed be the end of the writer's strike.

The studios and the WGA reached a tentative agreement late last night.  I'm assuming that the offer will be discussed at the WGA meeting scheduled for today, and could be ratified by the menbership in this very same meeting.  Everyone is eager to get back to work, so if the deal goes through, we could see our favorite shows go back into production as soon as possible.

Other information I read yesterday hinted that it would take at least a MONTH for shows to begin appearing on air once again, and there was some speculation if the studios would even bother for this season... if they'd just cut their losses and focus on 2008-2009.  Seeing as we still have the May sweeps period to contend with, I'd assume that they'd be wanting to capture as many eyes as possible, but then again, I'm no expert by any means.  Guess we'll just have to see what happens.

Remember, too, that The Office team had a script essentially ready to film (which Jenna Fischer called one of the "funniest ever") right before the strike happened.  We might see a new episode sooner than expected, if everything goes well.

See details on the tentative deal HERE (pdf document).

Check the unofficial WGA blog UNITEDHOLLYWOOD.