Had enough of reruns and reality TV?

Fred Schruers notes that the three-month-old strike by television and film writers appears all but settled.

The two sides have reached an agreement in principle, and more talks are scheduled for today. The key element is an agreement that will double residual payments on films and TV shows sold on online, a deal patterned on one reached recently with the Directors Guild, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The presidents of the Writers Guild wrote to members this weekend asking them to keep up their resolve until a contract is reached. "We are still in talks and do not yet have a contract," they wrote.

But as the Hollywood Reporter found, "despite those words of caution, a sense of optimism spread through Hollywood over the weekend."

Indeed Sam Schechner and Peter Sanders of the Wall Street Journal report that the prospect of an imminent deal is forcing TV studio and network executives to decide whether to crank up production immediately, extend shows into the summer, or just wait until the fall.

If there is a contract, it should come in time to save the broadcast of the Academy Awards, scheduled for February 24.