Show runners caught in the middle
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Days before the strike, many TV show runners figured they would turn away from their computer keyboards during a strike but would show up on set to finish producing the episodes that were already written. After the WGA begged them not to work at all to send a strong message to their big bosses, most show runners across Hollywood joined their staffs on the picket line Monday and Tuesday.
So how are the networks completing their orders? With actors, directors and a post-production editing team. Since many shows do not have nonwriting producers on staff, that means none of the creative forces behind the scripts will have any input.
One show runner who asked to remain anonymous repeated what he told his crew when he said goodbye: ‘I feel like throwing up . . . and then crying . . . .’
--Maria Elena Fernandez