While most shows have enough material to last for the next few weeks, a severe drought of televised entertainment is in our near future.

The inevitability of a writer’s strike has been looming over Hollywood for well over a year. The current contract for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) was set to expire on Oct. 30, and if demands for renewal were not met, the writers threatened they would strike.

Eleventh hour negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed, and on the morning of Nov. 5, production halted on a vast majority of television shows as the writers began to picket.

In order to preemptively combat the strike, some television shows began production a few months early, while others had been stockpiling scripts in the event of a strike. While many writers frowned upon this, seeing it as an insult to their cause, networks were craving as much content as they could get.

Nightly talk shows like “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” will most likely be airing reruns during the duration of the strike due to the timely nature of their writing.

The future of serial dramas such as “24” and “Lost” remain in question. “24” will most likely go on a hiatus until the strike is over due to the fact that producers frown upon the prospect of having to end the season a few episodes into it. “Lost” creators are debating whether or not to air the episodes they already have in the can and end the mini-season on a cliffhanger, or delay the entire thing until the strike is resolved.

Some of the most vocal and visual members of the picket line are writers and actors from NBC’s “The Office.” A video has been making its way around the Web showcasing the various creative minds behind the show discussing the strike while participating in the picket line.

One humorous moment comes when show-runner Greg Daniels explains how NBC considers the version of “The Office” offered on nbc.com to be strictly promotional, even-though it contains advertisements which obviously make the network money.

The bulk of the dispute revolves around residuals from newer mediums, most notably DVD and the Internet. Over the past few years, the sales of television programs on DVD have become extremely profitable.

Coupled with other methods of digital distribution, such as iTunes, network Web sites, and cell phones, these new mediums on which people view their favorite programs have become an extremely lucrative section of the market, and the writers feel they are entitled to their fare share of the profits.

While most shows have enough material to last for the next few weeks, a severe drought of televised entertainment is in our near future should the strike not be resolved.

The last time the WGA went on strike in 1988, it lasted roughly five months. While television fans are anxiously waiting for a resolution to the current situation, it’s very possible that April will roll around and we’ll all still be watching reruns.

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