TV showrunners head back to the office today, putting an official end to Hollywood's 14-week writing freeze.

Writers Guild of America West president Patric Verrone announced on Sunday that the ruling boards of the W.G.A. have forged a three-year tentative deal with the majors, but held off on officially ending the strike until W.G.A. members have the opportunity to vote on a return to work.

The members vote—which is largely seen as a formality—will conclude Tuesday night, meaning rank and file writers will officially resume work on Wednesday.

The strike's end means that networks and studios can finally launch back into production, and that the February 24 Oscars can proceed without fear of picketing—and with scriptwriters.

Judging by Verrone's attitude, the W.G.A. feels that the new contract represents a victory for writers. The vast part of the friction between the two sides was over jurisdiction over new media and tying new-media residuals to distributors' gross; the deal hammered out allows studios a 17-day window (or 24 days for first-year programs) of free usage before residual fees kick in.

While many writers balk at that portion of the contract, according to Variety, a little-noticed provision of the pact gives scribes 2 percent of distributors' gross on library product going back to 1977 from the first year of the contract. Library product is defined as programs streamed more than a year after their initial telecast, and is seen as a growth area for studios and networks.

Now that writers are back to work, TV networks will begin especially furious production schedules.

Variety reports that NBC's Saturday Night Live will be among the first shows back on TV, before the end of February, while ratings giants like ABC's Desperate Housewives and NBC's The Office will begin airing by the end of March.

Dramas, which take longer to produce, may not air again until the fall, as producers are hesitant to restart production for just a few episodes to air before seasons end in May.    

One major change that writers will grapple with when they return to their desks is big changes to the traditional pilot season and process. Major studios won't have time to fully produce pilots the way they have in the past, opting instead to work off of scripts and substantially cut down on the number of shows that make it to pilot stage.

That's one thing that network execs can thank the striking writers for, as pilots are seen by many as major drains on time and money.

There may also be major changes in advertising upfronts. NBC has said that it is considering canceling its presentation, while ABC is rumored to be planning a paired-down event this spring.


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