24 Postponed Due to Writers Strike

BURBANK, November 8: The strike by
the Writers Guild of America has prompted FOX to postpone the premiere of 24 to ensure that season seven can run without repeats.

24 was slated to return to the FOX schedule on January 13.
That slot will instead be filled by the new series Terminator: The Sarah
Connor Chronicles. The network also
announced that Prison Break will have
its last 2007 broadcast on November 12, returning January 14. Season seven of American
Idol kicks off January 15. And the new
game show The Moment of Truth premieres
January 23. The Sunday-night animated comedies—The Simpsons, King of the Hill,
Family Guy and American Dad—as
well as Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?,
Don’t Forget The Lyrics!, Cops and America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back will all continue with original episodes, while a mix of
original and encore episodes is currently planned for House, Bones, ’Til
Death and Back to You.

The U.S. networks are all
beginning to alter their schedules in the wake of the writers’ strike.
Production has already ceased on The Office, which will air its last original episode November 15.
Other shows close to running out of scripts include Law & Order: SVU and Desperate Housewives. Two and a Half Men
and The New Adventures of Old Christine,
meanwhile, have reportedly ceased production but have enough episodes completed
to get CBS through the coming weeks.

—By Mansha Daswani