'24' Postponed by Writers Strike

NEW YORK – The writers strike has struck down the Fox thriller "24."

"24" is absent from the network's revised, strike-affected schedule for midseason. In its announcement, Fox explained the "Day 7" season for the series would be indefinitely postponed to ensure an uninterrupted run.

Like most series written by members of the Writers Guild of America, "24" is falling prey to a shortfall of scripts. But the heavily sequential, real-time "24" is dependent on a full-season run of 24 episodes.

Fox's revised schedule also calls for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" to have a two-night premiere Jan. 13-14. The new drama, a reinvention of the "Terminator" film franchise, stars Lena Headey.

"American Idol" returns Jan. 15-16. A new game show, "The Moment of Truth," premieres Jan. 23.

Looking further ahead, "New Amsterdam," a drama about a New York City detective who is immortal, premieres in February.

The Farrelly Brothers comedy "Unhitched" premieres in March, as does an unscripted, role-reversal series, "When Women Rule the World," and a comedy from "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, "The Return of Jezebel James."

"Canterbury's Law," a legal drama starring Julianna Margulies, arrives in April.

Fox stressed that its revised schedule, announced Wednesday, was subject to further change, if strike developments warrant. WGA writers went on strike Monday, with no end in sight to their dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The announcement by Fox was likely intended, in part, to make clear that it has fresh programming -- in the form of new series -- on deck, despite forecasts of rerun-beset lineups looming as the season wears on. That was unlikely to console "24" fans awaiting the next 24-hour marathon of crises for put-upon hero Jack Bauer.

While writers picket in Hollywood and New York, the impact of a strike entering its fourth day was being felt beyond the east and west coasts.

In Louisiana, crews on the set of "K-Ville," a Fox police drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans, were filming the last episode written before the strike.

Writers returned to the picket lines after their strike forced at least eight prime-time shows, including the popular NBC sitcom "The Office," to halt production.

No new negotiations have been scheduled on the main sticking points between writers and producers: payments from DVDs and shows offered on the Internet.

One of the largest rallies Wednesday occurred outside the gates of the Disney studio in Burbank. About 60 people, including a number of powerful producer-writers known in the industry as "showrunners," joined the protest, even though the networks expected many of them to report to work as managers during the strike.

Among them was Greg Daniels, executive producer of the "The Office," who said filming stopped on the show after star Steve Carell refused to cross picket lines. Writers and actors from the show used their time on the picket line to make a video and post it on YouTube.

Sally Field, who won the best actress Oscar in 1979 for the pro-union film "Norma Rae," left the set of her ABC show, "Brothers & Sisters," to visit strikers outside the Disney lot.

Writers "are not being allowed to participate in the future of the business," Field said. "This can be a very lucrative field, but also incredibly insecure for all of the artists, writers, actors and directors."

Mark Perry, executive producer of "Brothers & Sisters," said filming on the show would end next week as it runs out of scripts.

At a Los Angeles studio, the cast of the ABC medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," which joined writers on a picket line, said they were shooting scenes for their last scripted episode.

"We're supposed to be going until the end of May and right now our last shooting day will be Tuesday or Wednesday," said T.R. Knight. "As actors, we're paid a different way than the writers, but there's also the crew to keep in mind. They are out of work as of next Wednesday."

The strike began Monday after last-minute negotiations failed to produce a deal. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said no new talks had been scheduled. Neither group offered further comment Wednesday.

Production of at least seven sitcoms has been halted because of the strike, and the hit ABC drama "Desperate Housewives" was scheduled to finish filming its latest episode because it had run out of scripts.

Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.