The three month long writer’s strike this winter left us cold, lonely, and without our favorite shows. The strike ended in February, but it took the writers and showrunners a while to get back in the swing of things. We had stunted seasons of shows like The Office to compensate for the time off, and while we support the writer’s, that made us very sad. Thankfully this summer there’s more than enough new shows to hold our procrastinating attention.

These shows are worth your TiVo time this summer:

Swingtown (CBS, Thursdays – 10pm) Think Mad Men with sex and drugs in place of sexual harassment and martinis. This new CBS show takes place in a suburban town in the the mid-1970s, where a new couple befriends their neighbors who like to enjoy themselves with some kinky sex practices, namely partner swapping and foursomes.

The Factory (Spike, Sundays – 10pm) – Spike TV’s first original television series takes a comedic look at four bored small town factory workers. This is a good program for those who like the shipping guys on The Office. The show was written by and stars Mitch Rouse, co-creator of Strangers With Candy. Read More »

As evidenced by the disgusting amount of re-runs and sh*tty reality shows (well, except for Supernanny. Kids making their parents cry will always be entertainment to me) the writer’s strike is still going strong. While individual companies are attempting to make deals, the cooperate conglomerate as a whole are still being greedy little bitches, their obsession with the Benjamins creating TV havoc for the rest of us.

Even though many of the writers involved in the strike are losing thousands of dollars a week, they still seem to have a sense of humor about the whole thing. This sense of humor provides countless hours of YouTube fun, including a gem entitled “Murder Unscripted”.

Who knew B.D Wong could be hilarious?

“This writer’s strike is getting annoying,” I heard someone say on the corner of 2nd avenue yesterday. “What the hell is their problem? And why does it have to be my problem?”

Because of what I do and where I go to school, I’m in a position to hear about the Writer’s Strike all the time. But I can understand the frustration of those who don’t know all the details—from far away, it can look like a bunch of people walking around and complaining.

But it’s more than that.

UnitedHollywood, a new blog that’s blossomed in the wake of the strike, explains exactly why hundreds of television and film writers are marching, and does it in a funny, entertaining way. A few of TV’s bigger shows have made YouTube videos for the site, and after watching of few of them, two things become blindingly clear: 1) without these people, TV is gonna blow, and 2) big businesses are greedy. Read More »