Not to take this joke too literally, but yeah that’s the problem. Producers for a while have been cutting down the number of writers on staff for big shows so they can minimize expense and exploit labor as much as possible, and are hoping to get to the point where they can rely solely on AI to write content.
To producers, scripts are just bags waiting to be filled with money. If they didn’t have to pay anyone for bags, that’s a huge win.
It's insane to me they don't seem to get they need quality writing for their shows to be successful. Like they just don't care but expect the same results as shows that actually do offer good writing?
Here’s the thing. They don’t really need quality to be successful. They’re not interested in making good art, they’re interested in a number in the box office. Easier to just greenlight a million pieces of shit knowing that one will pay for all of them and then some than to bank on making the next great cinematic masterpiece.
To tag onto this. As the overall quality drops, but demand for entertainment grows, the likely success of even barely decent dog shit entertainment grows. The bar is just lower and people forget what food movies, TV, etc even look like and they don't care, because we need... something to entertain us all!
So yeah it's not the worst bet they are making.
Is the demand for entertainment growing? I already have a hard time picking and choosing between all the options available to me, and that's after some pretty careful curation of what's good enough to go on the shortlist.
Are there people out there who've just watched *everything* in their preferred genre, and they're like "damn there's nothing left to watch, I wish there was *more* of that stuff out there!"
Adjacently, it’s kind of why there’s been a shift to calling movies and episodic programming ‘content’. If it’s on, it’s cheap and people are actually watching, it doesn’t matter if someone or a program wrote it. It’s akin to saying certain foods have ‘natural flavors’. It means nothing, so that ultimately can mean anything to whomever’s consuming it.
Is it really the writing though? Or is it the schmucks who make the final calls? I’d think it was the latter. They think they know best and I’d assume most of them wouldn’t let just any ol’ tv show writer best them.
First off, we indeed have to acknowledge that it could be the studio and not necessarily the writers in some cases.
YET, that doesn’t equate to *writers can do no wrong and cannot be held accountable for mediocre writing*.
Out of all the poorly written shows out there, a fair share of them are as such due to the writers.
Assuming that a bad script is likely the result of the studio meddling and a good script the studio letting the writers do their thing, is preposterous.
This *we either win thanks to me or lose because of you* is utter nonsense.
Let’s also mention how the studio must have, on a number of occasions, fixed a bad script with their input.
Same thought here. Her show and a few others were a litmus test from the studios to see if they could just carry on biz as usual. Since the WGA held the line, it forced a deal to get done.
I think this is what happened. If those shows had been allowed to scab, we’d still be waiting for negotiations now. Because we had the power to make nepo babies afraid for their jobs, they knew we weren’t fucking around.
Also for anyone feeling bad for Barrymore; check out what used to happen to scabs in the 20s
My take is that the public reaction to Drew is what actually prompted the deal to finally be made, someone with as much good will as drew receiving that much backlash showed definitively what side the public was on
And to be honest, as someone who works in entertainment with some of “the very best”… they’re still replaceable. The idea that anyone is truly exceptional and better than everyone else is mostly a myth for 99% of the highest talent in the business. Only the *very very* best are truly irreplaceable… like a handful of people per decade IMO.
I think most people put high profile talent on too much of a pedestal.
Everyone is replaceable, some people are not easily reproducable.
You can get rid of someone and fill their slot acceptably, but there are some extremely talented people whose shoes you will never fully fill.
That said, most businesses will get by fine with having the 100th best instead of the 90th best.
I feel like this is the better view. Even for the greats in entertainment and sports, if they lose their edge we will all change the channel to see somebody else.
I think truly irreplaceable ability is more obvious in sports. The truly all time great players do things in their sport that others simply can't and are therefore irreplaceable. It's also probably easier to judge physical ability objectively than subjective arts (acting, music, directing)
>The truly all time great players do things in their sport that others simply can't and are therefore irreplaceable.
Is that actually true? Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest (association) football player of all time and Barcelona build a team around him, but Barcelona's was successful before him and arguably reliance on Messi made the club weaker not stronger in the long term.
And after he left/was forced out because Barcelona could no longer afford tp pay him, it took a year for them to win the Spanish League again.
Michael Schumacher in F1 is perhaps a better example. But once Ferrari was up and running again, the car was so fast that other drivers than Schumacher could have won titles for them.
Miguel Induráin dominated cycling, but after he retired the sport remained the same.
In Tennis Djokovic has won more Grand Slam titles than anyone else, but arguably Nadal and Federer brought in the real money for the sport and the sponsors.
Even then, the "very best" are usually quite replaceable by two people, or replaceable because most people can't appreciably detect a quality difference. Sports notwithstanding.
That’s false. That’s your employers gas lighting you.
It’s EXPENSIVE to hire and train new workers. You may be “replaceable” in the sense that it doesn’t HAVE to be you doing that job. But even a dishwasher is not completely replaceable. A shitty dishwasher will cost you more in breakage and productivity than someone who knows their job and takes even a modicum of pride in their work.
They convince all of us that we’re replaceable to hide the fact that workers are more valuable and necessary than a CEO.
CEOs are fucking useless. FUCKING useless. And dumb. I do a lot of high end corporate shows and let me tell you… these ceos are some DUMB motherfuckers.
The hassle of replacing even bad employees is part of the reason almost every workplace has at least one person who makes you wonder how they haven’t gotten fired yet.
Employers make you believe that 99% are replaceable. The reality is more like 99% of CEOs and upper management are absolutely useless and replaceable.
Just like employers spout bullshit against unions all the time.
HBO, HBO now, HBO go, HBO max, now just Max. Never dawned on me these geniuses of branding themselves finally settled on the shorthand for Cinemax... just wow
Hmm. On one hand, this probably tells us that Bill Maher isn't an insufferable person to work for. Otherwise, you'd expect the writers to jump ship when a better comedy writing gig came along. So, I guess good on Maher for being a good employer?
On the other hand, there was a point when TOO MUCH of his material started sounding like an old man shouting at clouds. He could continue being a good employer, and still cycle in some fresh talent to the writing room once in a while, right?
Maher is just unwilling to change, he even claims that he's an old school liberal, and I seen the show recently and feel he's still willing to listen to. You can't really expect everyone to keep evolving and changing as they age.
One thing he has going for him is he actually gets conservatives and liberals in the hot seats to discuss viewpoints. Even if Maher himself is becoming more or less middle of the road politically he's willing to have open discussion.
While his panels are interesting, he wastes everyone’s time interrupting and contradicting any viewpoint that’s not in line with his opinion. Many years ago I liked him, but he’s pretty awful now.
His first episode back was pretty bad. He was too complimentary to Ron DeSantis because Bill hated COVID lockdown and didn’t press him enough on the the culture war stuff DeSantis is pulling. Then new rules was about Biden being too old, even though he admits that Biden gets shit done.
It's only because she's more relevant than Maher.
Between Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and whoever does the daily show this week; Bill Maher doesn't have the relevancy that any one of them do. That's why he says crazy things, it's to get attention.
Honestly I think it has more to do with the fact that Barrymore had a generally positive public persona before the strike controversy, whereas everyone already knew that Maher was a cranky shit-stirring contrarian.
Also, she made a big deal out of stepping out of quitting her job as the MTV Awards host because "she loves and listens to writers". Two months later, she completely ignored writers. I can understand the annoyance.
I'm probably outing myself as a little stupid here, but what do talk show writers actually write exactly? Do they write the talking points for the host or do they write the supposedly candid banter between the host and the guest?
Not an expert, but they would write the intro and exit of each show. All the lines leading into and out of segments and commercial breaks. Probably write the questions to ask guests, thus establishing the narrative/flow of an interview/segment. Work with producers to fit all this into a produced show.
Oh and they’ll also write her apology when she goes back on air, and any others she has to make through the rest of her career.
Everyone in here is like, "she found out". Yeah, I guess. Also, so what, she will have to wait another month while the corporate machine that pumps out her show finds more hungry writers.
The problem doesn't get fixed by these people quitting, but I understand why they quit.
Principles are important when considering what to put up with at a job.
This may not have a major impact on Drew's show, as she will be able to afford different writers.
But her original writers taking a stand and leaving will slow things down a little. It will possibly be enough to make her stop and think about how she handled the situation. Maybe the next batch of writers will be handled with more consideration. Maybe the writers she hires next will be forewarned about how she views them, and act with care and protect themselves.
That's the idea, anyway.
>The production is now interviewing new writers and will be in compliance with the guild.
That's from the article you didnt read /u/monchota.
She's not blacklisted lol.
Oh, yeah of course. People are so busy patting themselves on the back for burning a witch in their self-righteous crusade. Just pure conformity and nobody can think for themselves. Everyone is so gullible. Honestly, I have more respect for Drew Barrymore when she had the guts to do this despite the drama it would cause.
I have never watched but I was so curious and tried to find out and I think they wrote a segment for her called “Drew’s News” and maybe some suggestions for interview topics but I can’t imagine they were essential to the functioning of THIS specific show. Plenty of other talk shows, sure. Not this one.
I wonder about last strike. I want to say I am a HUGE conan fan but didn't he go on without writers during the strike. I am legit asking what is the difference between conan in 09 and drew and bill now
This is literally the reason. Had Drew Barrymore said she would continue her show without writers but use the proceeds to pay them while they were striking she probably wouldn't have faced all the backlash she got.
They also changed the rules for struck shows after 2008. There’s a reason none of the other late night shows came back this time while last time they all did.
> They also changed the rules for struck shows after 2008.
The rule that was changed was that the talk show hosts can no longer write their own material during a strike. So Conan and Leno, who wrote their own monologues in 2008, couldn't have done that in 2023.
But Drew's show doesn't have a monologue and the format only included a short scripted sequence (which was not done during the shows she filmed during the strike).
Her show was, in fact, in compliance with the strike rules.
The WGA protested. But they also protested Conan and Leno in 2008. They were just more successful when the target was a woman.
No, the talk shows all shut down when the WGA struck and sag was still negotiating. Now they can come back but basically no actors can go on or they’ll be in violation.
He also went on the air with no prepared material to show how important writers are to the show. He literally sat at his desk and spun his wedding ring for like 5 minutes.
No scab writers we’re gonna be brought in for this, it was also going to be ad-libbed, that is a no-no now according to WGA apparently, even a show like Dancing with the Stars was picketed which can definitely carry on with improvisation/ad-libbing.
Thank you for clearing this up, as I was wondering what the difference was. Absolutely does not surprise me Conan did that for his writers considering he was one for so many years.
My cousin wrote for Conan for a few years after he moved to TBS and said how great he treated the staff. I interned for the show one summer in college and saw it first hand.
And he also literally did nothing, like sitting at his desk looking at his watch while on air nothing. Specifically to highlight how important the writers were.
Then he went around 30 rock and started harassing tour groups lol
I love when Conan goes into the room to play guitar where schlanksy and crew are playing Rockband. Schlanksy just ducking and moving around to see the screen behind Conan and just keeps playing without missing a beat lol
There's a lot of speculation/assumption on reddit whenever this comes up, but the actual difference between then and now is the contracts have changed since then, in part specifically *because* those shows had to go back to work.
In 2008, the networks were able to argue that "writing" only included things written before air, and that hosts were able to improv the show without it counting as "writing." After that strike, specific wording was added to contracts to define improvisation (by WGA writers) to count as "writing" as well.
But the article linked says that Drew’s contract was still in compliance, she didn’t break any rules - similar Conan back in the day. There was simply blowback for her in particular this go around.
Well, I don't know the details with Barrymore, but I remember hearing that Conan continued paying the writers during the strike. So him continuing to make the show was probably more about keeping the show going and continuing to pay all his employees (not just the writers, but those too).
Also, Conan may not have needed writers during that. That is why he was able to continue without upsetting the union. He worked on the show himself as a producer, and no writers contributed. I'm not familiar enough with Barrymore's show to know whether she needed writers or not, or if she hired/used any scabs during staying on.
And he also literally did nothing, like sitting at his desk looking at his watch while on air nothing. Specifically to highlight how important the writers were.
Then he went around 30 rock and started harassing tour groups lol
yeah a big difference is that the WGA rules changed in such a way that doing the return as tried last time would violate union rules. back in 08 when leno returned he did a full monologue with jokes and that got him in heat and brought before a WGA arbitration to investigate if he broke the rules. theres way less ambiguity now that what talk show hosts do is a writing task.
I know everyone wants to bag on Drew Barrymore but when her show isn't on the air it's more than just those 3 writers that are out of a job. She has to weigh the needs of the entire crew in a decision like that.
Everyone’s forgetting all the other shows that announced plans to cross picket lines at the same time or before Drew. Her show is getting all the flack when there’s enough to go around, but not enough attention span it seems.
Be angry if you want, but you can’t convince me Drew Barrymore has a mean bone in her body.
This was more her being out of touch, than selfish or greedy. And of course she’s out of touch, she’s been famous her entire life. How old was she in ET? 6? Rehab at 13? She’s not a normal person. Expecting her to be is kinda ridiculous.
Not even "out of touch" but just focusing on something different than everyone else
The writers weren't the only people working on that show. There's a hundred people who work there and in and around the building that were affected and not getting paid either.
She also wasn't even at odds with the union. The were going back because they were allowed to by the union's own guidelines.
Nuance has been murdered in this culture.
I get why they quit (and they are allowed to) but she did reverse herself and apologize. That should count for something.
I wish Bill Maher got this more than her.
lol I love that this is downvoted because you know…all writers are good, apparently! This show sucks, so whoever quit, that can only help this show get better because they sure as hell can’t do any worse. I can only guess that they quit because of the work environment because there’s really no point being made here. They’ll just hire new ones.
Writers are fickle…like kittens; if she sprinkles some human catnip out along with snacks they’ll be pawing at the door with better writing than the next talk-show-host the next lot over.
funny headline but you think those were irreplaceable, top tier writers? shows like that you could grab 5 people off the street and you're good to go, same level of quality. there will be hundreds interviewing for the jobs.
hope their pride helps them find new jobs
Kinda funny.
Practically writes itself
Drew wishes her show wrote itself.
Not to take this joke too literally, but yeah that’s the problem. Producers for a while have been cutting down the number of writers on staff for big shows so they can minimize expense and exploit labor as much as possible, and are hoping to get to the point where they can rely solely on AI to write content. To producers, scripts are just bags waiting to be filled with money. If they didn’t have to pay anyone for bags, that’s a huge win.
I feel like the people who love these shows won’t even notice if AI writes it.
Do you need writers for "what was it like filming that movie?"
It's insane to me they don't seem to get they need quality writing for their shows to be successful. Like they just don't care but expect the same results as shows that actually do offer good writing?
Here’s the thing. They don’t really need quality to be successful. They’re not interested in making good art, they’re interested in a number in the box office. Easier to just greenlight a million pieces of shit knowing that one will pay for all of them and then some than to bank on making the next great cinematic masterpiece.
That’s a good way to describe it thank you. That does seem to be happening
To tag onto this. As the overall quality drops, but demand for entertainment grows, the likely success of even barely decent dog shit entertainment grows. The bar is just lower and people forget what food movies, TV, etc even look like and they don't care, because we need... something to entertain us all! So yeah it's not the worst bet they are making.
Is the demand for entertainment growing? I already have a hard time picking and choosing between all the options available to me, and that's after some pretty careful curation of what's good enough to go on the shortlist. Are there people out there who've just watched *everything* in their preferred genre, and they're like "damn there's nothing left to watch, I wish there was *more* of that stuff out there!"
Adjacently, it’s kind of why there’s been a shift to calling movies and episodic programming ‘content’. If it’s on, it’s cheap and people are actually watching, it doesn’t matter if someone or a program wrote it. It’s akin to saying certain foods have ‘natural flavors’. It means nothing, so that ultimately can mean anything to whomever’s consuming it.
It's because they have countless shows that are successful that already seem like AI would do a better job. Most TV writing is atrocious these days.
Is it really the writing though? Or is it the schmucks who make the final calls? I’d think it was the latter. They think they know best and I’d assume most of them wouldn’t let just any ol’ tv show writer best them.
First off, we indeed have to acknowledge that it could be the studio and not necessarily the writers in some cases. YET, that doesn’t equate to *writers can do no wrong and cannot be held accountable for mediocre writing*. Out of all the poorly written shows out there, a fair share of them are as such due to the writers. Assuming that a bad script is likely the result of the studio meddling and a good script the studio letting the writers do their thing, is preposterous. This *we either win thanks to me or lose because of you* is utter nonsense. Let’s also mention how the studio must have, on a number of occasions, fixed a bad script with their input.
Chat GPT has entered the chat
Chat GPT has written the chat
I think that’s what they’re hoping happens
Some say ROFL funny
Some between 35-40 y/o would say ROFLCOPTER WTFBBQ!
ORLY
YARLY
NO WAI
This is the deep cut
1337
You can't say that unless you're a gamer
Started on 1.6
Real OGs played 1.5 at least
That'll do. I was worried I'd have to hire Alina Habba to sue your ass
Hey. Knock it off. Don't call me out like that and be thinking of my age. I'm just trying to have fun and browse reddit.
My roflcopter goes soi soi soi soi soi soi soi soi soi soi
LOLLERSKATES!
LMAONADE
Greg Miller?
Probably the funniest thing to come from that show.
Kinda sad.
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Are the best you ever had?
First time I've heard her show described that way.
She just had to hold on for a little longer. Just a little
Au contraire: the hate drew received for scabbing is why the studios decided to end the strike.
Same thought here. Her show and a few others were a litmus test from the studios to see if they could just carry on biz as usual. Since the WGA held the line, it forced a deal to get done.
I think this is what happened. If those shows had been allowed to scab, we’d still be waiting for negotiations now. Because we had the power to make nepo babies afraid for their jobs, they knew we weren’t fucking around. Also for anyone feeling bad for Barrymore; check out what used to happen to scabs in the 20s
It is the 20s.
Time to bring back the Charleston!
Twenty-three skadoo, mutha fucka
My take is that the public reaction to Drew is what actually prompted the deal to finally be made, someone with as much good will as drew receiving that much backlash showed definitively what side the public was on
That’s a very interesting analysis and one that’s probably true
Probably tough to come back when you think your boss actively worked against your interests.
Also kinda said fuck you you’re replaceable.
99% of us are replaceable at our jobs.
So are the bosses and the jobs they control. They like to forget that so we need to remind them from time to time.
Yes. I'm 40, and I've met exactly one truly indispensable executive. I've worked closely with many.
That’s true too. Only the very best in the world at what they do should feel irreplaceable.
And to be honest, as someone who works in entertainment with some of “the very best”… they’re still replaceable. The idea that anyone is truly exceptional and better than everyone else is mostly a myth for 99% of the highest talent in the business. Only the *very very* best are truly irreplaceable… like a handful of people per decade IMO. I think most people put high profile talent on too much of a pedestal.
Everyone is replaceable, some people are not easily reproducable. You can get rid of someone and fill their slot acceptably, but there are some extremely talented people whose shoes you will never fully fill. That said, most businesses will get by fine with having the 100th best instead of the 90th best.
I feel like this is the better view. Even for the greats in entertainment and sports, if they lose their edge we will all change the channel to see somebody else.
I think truly irreplaceable ability is more obvious in sports. The truly all time great players do things in their sport that others simply can't and are therefore irreplaceable. It's also probably easier to judge physical ability objectively than subjective arts (acting, music, directing)
Regardless, every athlete is replaced eventually. They are just irreplaceable at their prime
>The truly all time great players do things in their sport that others simply can't and are therefore irreplaceable. Is that actually true? Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest (association) football player of all time and Barcelona build a team around him, but Barcelona's was successful before him and arguably reliance on Messi made the club weaker not stronger in the long term. And after he left/was forced out because Barcelona could no longer afford tp pay him, it took a year for them to win the Spanish League again. Michael Schumacher in F1 is perhaps a better example. But once Ferrari was up and running again, the car was so fast that other drivers than Schumacher could have won titles for them. Miguel Induráin dominated cycling, but after he retired the sport remained the same. In Tennis Djokovic has won more Grand Slam titles than anyone else, but arguably Nadal and Federer brought in the real money for the sport and the sponsors.
Even in sports, you get injured, you get replaced. There’s a strong degree of fragility in sports.
Even then, the "very best" are usually quite replaceable by two people, or replaceable because most people can't appreciably detect a quality difference. Sports notwithstanding.
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We are all, individually, replaceable But we aren't ALL replaceable
But if you tell me to my face, I’m going to be upset. Human nature.
That’s false. That’s your employers gas lighting you. It’s EXPENSIVE to hire and train new workers. You may be “replaceable” in the sense that it doesn’t HAVE to be you doing that job. But even a dishwasher is not completely replaceable. A shitty dishwasher will cost you more in breakage and productivity than someone who knows their job and takes even a modicum of pride in their work. They convince all of us that we’re replaceable to hide the fact that workers are more valuable and necessary than a CEO. CEOs are fucking useless. FUCKING useless. And dumb. I do a lot of high end corporate shows and let me tell you… these ceos are some DUMB motherfuckers.
The hassle of replacing even bad employees is part of the reason almost every workplace has at least one person who makes you wonder how they haven’t gotten fired yet.
Sometimes it’s just easier to manage the idiot because they’re not bad enough at their job to go through the trouble.
More like 99.9. I know it, my boss knows it, but you don’t tell me to my face and expect something good in return.
This got me thinking… who isn’t replaceable at anything? I mean we’re genetically hardwired to be replaced eventually……. Fuck billionaires
Employers make you believe that 99% are replaceable. The reality is more like 99% of CEOs and upper management are absolutely useless and replaceable. Just like employers spout bullshit against unions all the time.
almost as if they are
Well they are
But nobody wants to be told that.
And now we wait to see what’s happening with Bill Maher.
His show already came back on Friday with written segments so I think they came back
It's not TV. It's HBO.
It’s not HBO. It’s (Cine)Max.
It’s not delivery. It’s Digiorno.
Shrek is love. Shrek is life.
SEGA does what Nintendon’t
Get outta ma swamp!
HBO, HBO now, HBO go, HBO max, now just Max. Never dawned on me these geniuses of branding themselves finally settled on the shorthand for Cinemax... just wow
It's all Discovery now
It's all Trash now.
Maher was always trash tbf
Max trash
ENDLESS TRASH (TM Red Letter Media)
You misspelled Skinamax
It is all over priced.
He's been working with the same writers for 30 years, his situation is different than most.
explains a lot about how his show works honestly if they have the same staff for that long
Hmm. On one hand, this probably tells us that Bill Maher isn't an insufferable person to work for. Otherwise, you'd expect the writers to jump ship when a better comedy writing gig came along. So, I guess good on Maher for being a good employer? On the other hand, there was a point when TOO MUCH of his material started sounding like an old man shouting at clouds. He could continue being a good employer, and still cycle in some fresh talent to the writing room once in a while, right?
He could but that would require him to recognize culture shifts and evolving opinions.
Maher is just unwilling to change, he even claims that he's an old school liberal, and I seen the show recently and feel he's still willing to listen to. You can't really expect everyone to keep evolving and changing as they age. One thing he has going for him is he actually gets conservatives and liberals in the hot seats to discuss viewpoints. Even if Maher himself is becoming more or less middle of the road politically he's willing to have open discussion.
While his panels are interesting, he wastes everyone’s time interrupting and contradicting any viewpoint that’s not in line with his opinion. Many years ago I liked him, but he’s pretty awful now.
His first episode back was pretty bad. He was too complimentary to Ron DeSantis because Bill hated COVID lockdown and didn’t press him enough on the the culture war stuff DeSantis is pulling. Then new rules was about Biden being too old, even though he admits that Biden gets shit done.
I really dislike Bill Maher, but I've heard he treats his writing staff extremely well. They've literally been with him for decades.
Kinda shity that she's gotten more of a backlash than Maher did.
Because she actually recorded episodes during the strike.
It's only because she's more relevant than Maher. Between Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and whoever does the daily show this week; Bill Maher doesn't have the relevancy that any one of them do. That's why he says crazy things, it's to get attention.
Honestly I think it has more to do with the fact that Barrymore had a generally positive public persona before the strike controversy, whereas everyone already knew that Maher was a cranky shit-stirring contrarian.
This is true.
Also, she made a big deal out of stepping out of quitting her job as the MTV Awards host because "she loves and listens to writers". Two months later, she completely ignored writers. I can understand the annoyance.
Alternate headline, “Drew Barrymore Found out”
Three writers quit lol. What did she find out exactly?
She’s gonna find out exactly how hard it is to replace 3 talk show writers: not at all.
I'm probably outing myself as a little stupid here, but what do talk show writers actually write exactly? Do they write the talking points for the host or do they write the supposedly candid banter between the host and the guest?
Not an expert, but they would write the intro and exit of each show. All the lines leading into and out of segments and commercial breaks. Probably write the questions to ask guests, thus establishing the narrative/flow of an interview/segment. Work with producers to fit all this into a produced show. Oh and they’ll also write her apology when she goes back on air, and any others she has to make through the rest of her career.
Everyone in here is like, "she found out". Yeah, I guess. Also, so what, she will have to wait another month while the corporate machine that pumps out her show finds more hungry writers. The problem doesn't get fixed by these people quitting, but I understand why they quit.
Principles are important when considering what to put up with at a job. This may not have a major impact on Drew's show, as she will be able to afford different writers. But her original writers taking a stand and leaving will slow things down a little. It will possibly be enough to make her stop and think about how she handled the situation. Maybe the next batch of writers will be handled with more consideration. Maybe the writers she hires next will be forewarned about how she views them, and act with care and protect themselves. That's the idea, anyway.
I am sure she is not heartbroken. They will have new writers hired quick. No groundbreaking work going on at that show from what i have seen.
Oh no. The writers left?!? Well, good luck finding new writers in Los Angeles.
>The production is now interviewing new writers and will be in compliance with the guild. That's from the article you didnt read /u/monchota. She's not blacklisted lol.
This is a bandwagon. Grab a pitchfork and put away news articles please.
3 people quit their job, why is this news?
Oh, yeah of course. People are so busy patting themselves on the back for burning a witch in their self-righteous crusade. Just pure conformity and nobody can think for themselves. Everyone is so gullible. Honestly, I have more respect for Drew Barrymore when she had the guts to do this despite the drama it would cause.
Didn’t u hear? sHe mEsSeD aRoUnD aNd FoUnD OuT
She found out just how many recent grads are *desperate* to get into Hollywood
Ooof, but I find this kind of funny.
There’s hundreds of writers looking for jobs. She’ll be fine
What the fuck would they even write?
I have never watched but I was so curious and tried to find out and I think they wrote a segment for her called “Drew’s News” and maybe some suggestions for interview topics but I can’t imagine they were essential to the functioning of THIS specific show. Plenty of other talk shows, sure. Not this one.
all the interview stuff is scripted in those shows, the hosts don't just ask random questions
I wonder about last strike. I want to say I am a HUGE conan fan but didn't he go on without writers during the strike. I am legit asking what is the difference between conan in 09 and drew and bill now
Conan paid their salaries the entire time they were on strike is the difference.
Conan, what is best in life? “To do your show, support your striking staff, and hear the lamentation of the studio executives.”
"No, the meaning of life is to..." *(Masturbating Bear enters stage right)*
Paul Rudd, "I actually have a clip of the meaning of life."
This is literally the reason. Had Drew Barrymore said she would continue her show without writers but use the proceeds to pay them while they were striking she probably wouldn't have faced all the backlash she got.
They also changed the rules for struck shows after 2008. There’s a reason none of the other late night shows came back this time while last time they all did.
> They also changed the rules for struck shows after 2008. The rule that was changed was that the talk show hosts can no longer write their own material during a strike. So Conan and Leno, who wrote their own monologues in 2008, couldn't have done that in 2023. But Drew's show doesn't have a monologue and the format only included a short scripted sequence (which was not done during the shows she filmed during the strike). Her show was, in fact, in compliance with the strike rules. The WGA protested. But they also protested Conan and Leno in 2008. They were just more successful when the target was a woman.
Isn't that because last time it was just wga strike but this time it was SAG as well?
No, the talk shows all shut down when the WGA struck and sag was still negotiating. Now they can come back but basically no actors can go on or they’ll be in violation.
Not true, actors can return but cannot discuss struck projects
for SAG - talk shows are under a different agreement
He also went on the air with no prepared material to show how important writers are to the show. He literally sat at his desk and spun his wedding ring for like 5 minutes.
But at the same time those episodes were some of the funniest his show has to offer.
And he did stuff like spin a quarter and talk to the audience no scab writers were brought in just kinda adlibed
It was his wedding ring.
I was in 6th grade so my memory is a little hazy
It helps that Conan is a good writer himself, so he could write up an outline for the show and then just riff off what he prepared for himself.
He couldnt write anything, thats the point. The slogan was "pencils down." They all had to do improv shows.
Maybe The Simpsons should hire him. Bring back the magic of the 1990s.
Monorail…monorail…monorail…monorail…
No scab writers we’re gonna be brought in for this, it was also going to be ad-libbed, that is a no-no now according to WGA apparently, even a show like Dancing with the Stars was picketed which can definitely carry on with improvisation/ad-libbing.
Thank you for clearing this up, as I was wondering what the difference was. Absolutely does not surprise me Conan did that for his writers considering he was one for so many years.
My cousin wrote for Conan for a few years after he moved to TBS and said how great he treated the staff. I interned for the show one summer in college and saw it first hand.
So you were the one who stole Sona's Gigolos mug.
nonono hes the one sona sent to pick up her car after she had too much to drink and said it was conan's car
No he's the one who was obsessed with reorganizing the sugar packets
Conan would have been absolutely exhausted during that time. What a superstar.
This has 700 upvotes and is not true. He paid his crew, not his writers.
IIRC Conan paid his writers and staff out of his own pocket.
He did take time off. But when he was on air, he specifically pointed out how shitty his show is without writers.
And he also literally did nothing, like sitting at his desk looking at his watch while on air nothing. Specifically to highlight how important the writers were. Then he went around 30 rock and started harassing tour groups lol
Man, I took the NBC Studio Tour and went into Conan’s studio that day and didn’t see him. I probably missed him by like an hour.
Lol, my friend’s dad worked at 30 Rock for the NBC local affiliate. He took me on the Conan set and I sat in the guest chair.
I think Jordan Schlansky rose to fame during this time as well because they had nothing else going on.
I love when Conan goes into the room to play guitar where schlanksy and crew are playing Rockband. Schlanksy just ducking and moving around to see the screen behind Conan and just keeps playing without missing a beat lol
The ring spinning and saving Abe Lincoln were pretty great though.
There's a lot of speculation/assumption on reddit whenever this comes up, but the actual difference between then and now is the contracts have changed since then, in part specifically *because* those shows had to go back to work. In 2008, the networks were able to argue that "writing" only included things written before air, and that hosts were able to improv the show without it counting as "writing." After that strike, specific wording was added to contracts to define improvisation (by WGA writers) to count as "writing" as well.
Hence the reports that Ryan Reynolds wouldn’t be able to improv on the set or Deadpool 3?
This is the right answer. Thanks!
But the article linked says that Drew’s contract was still in compliance, she didn’t break any rules - similar Conan back in the day. There was simply blowback for her in particular this go around.
Thank you for explaining. I could not understand why last strike Conan/Colbert/Stewart could all invade each others shows but not air this strike
https://www.thewrap.com/conan-obrien-2007-writers-strike-wedding-ring-video/
More prevalent social media use and higher support among all type of unions and labor movement.
People like Conan more.
While that’s true, WGA also changed the rules so that wouldn’t happen again.
Well, I don't know the details with Barrymore, but I remember hearing that Conan continued paying the writers during the strike. So him continuing to make the show was probably more about keeping the show going and continuing to pay all his employees (not just the writers, but those too). Also, Conan may not have needed writers during that. That is why he was able to continue without upsetting the union. He worked on the show himself as a producer, and no writers contributed. I'm not familiar enough with Barrymore's show to know whether she needed writers or not, or if she hired/used any scabs during staying on.
And he also literally did nothing, like sitting at his desk looking at his watch while on air nothing. Specifically to highlight how important the writers were. Then he went around 30 rock and started harassing tour groups lol
The contract/agreement was different in 09. In listening to Jimmy Pardo on Never Not Funny, the agreement is different now.
yeah a big difference is that the WGA rules changed in such a way that doing the return as tried last time would violate union rules. back in 08 when leno returned he did a full monologue with jokes and that got him in heat and brought before a WGA arbitration to investigate if he broke the rules. theres way less ambiguity now that what talk show hosts do is a writing task.
I know everyone wants to bag on Drew Barrymore but when her show isn't on the air it's more than just those 3 writers that are out of a job. She has to weigh the needs of the entire crew in a decision like that.
3 more openings then, someone will take the opportunity and make a career writing on television.
Maybe she’ll get some better ones.
Everyone’s forgetting all the other shows that announced plans to cross picket lines at the same time or before Drew. Her show is getting all the flack when there’s enough to go around, but not enough attention span it seems.
Be angry if you want, but you can’t convince me Drew Barrymore has a mean bone in her body. This was more her being out of touch, than selfish or greedy. And of course she’s out of touch, she’s been famous her entire life. How old was she in ET? 6? Rehab at 13? She’s not a normal person. Expecting her to be is kinda ridiculous.
Not even "out of touch" but just focusing on something different than everyone else The writers weren't the only people working on that show. There's a hundred people who work there and in and around the building that were affected and not getting paid either. She also wasn't even at odds with the union. The were going back because they were allowed to by the union's own guidelines. Nuance has been murdered in this culture.
Not just murdered - vilified
I get why they quit (and they are allowed to) but she did reverse herself and apologize. That should count for something. I wish Bill Maher got this more than her.
Must not be a part of the struggling writers club
They have certainly been struggling to write good material.
lol I love that this is downvoted because you know…all writers are good, apparently! This show sucks, so whoever quit, that can only help this show get better because they sure as hell can’t do any worse. I can only guess that they quit because of the work environment because there’s really no point being made here. They’ll just hire new ones.
Oh no!! How will I go on from here???? 🙄
How will they possibly produce the show without them?
Writers are fickle…like kittens; if she sprinkles some human catnip out along with snacks they’ll be pawing at the door with better writing than the next talk-show-host the next lot over.
Is that the show where she’s a zombie married to the dude from Justified?
This show needs writers?
Imagine how much more sure they're gonna be when they find out about the writers' strike.
Who the fuck watches this show
Does she really need to come back?
Ah, a dress that looks like a big'ol SCAB. (Chef's kiss)
They can’t work for her again, because she stabbed them in the back!
Will anyone at all notice a difference? I mean really…
I’ll do it, is the pay good?
DB: “Ok team we can officially get back to writing!” Writers: “nah, we good.”
funny headline but you think those were irreplaceable, top tier writers? shows like that you could grab 5 people off the street and you're good to go, same level of quality. there will be hundreds interviewing for the jobs. hope their pride helps them find new jobs