Latest in TV Writers

Dorothy Fontana, the first female Star Trek writer and a stalwart presence in television science fiction for four decades, died on Monday. She was 80. The screen credit “D.C. Fontana” became a familiar one to several generations of sci-fi television viewers — and Star Trek fans in particular — but many never know the…

The WGA says that women and minorities showed slight gains in the 2019-20 TV series staffing season compared to a year ago, despite disruptions in the hiring process caused during the 105-day standoff between the guild and Hollywood's talent agencies. "Questions have been asked about the effect of the agency campaign…

In an effort to achieve parity in salaries throughout Hollywood, an anonymously-created TV writer survey has been circulating asking writers, writers assistants, executive assistants and showrunners assistants to share their salaries — and the entries have been eye-opening. The Google document was posted on today and…

It wasn't enough for the makers of Hawaii Five-O to let viewers pick the ending of an episode last season, now they're giving fans control over a full hour. CBS today unveiled its Fan Built Five-O initiative, a Mad Libs-esque stunt that lets the public vote online for an episode's half-dozen key story points: scene of…

Another TV staffing season is coming to a close as, one by one, writers rooms of new and returning series are convening to work on the 2011-12 orders. Overall, “it was a healthy staffing season,” one industry insider said, while another was lamenting the system, in which prospective writers meet on 80+ pilots in the…

EXCLUSIVE (UPDATED BELOW): There’s been no announcement yet. But Ann Blanchard is already being accused of breaking Hollywood protocol by not first informing those agents repping her Mosaic Media Group’s TV management clients of her change of employment. Instead, she’s calling those clients today and trying to…

It's like broadcast TV industry's version of a hangover. It's already August, the marketplace should be bustling with business but only a few pitches have trickled in so far. “We're very late this year," a network topper tells me. Why is that? Some point to the last selling season which was so long and bruising, by…