Hollywood film and TV writers, who have been on a nearly two-week strike against studios, will return to contract negotiations on Nov. 26. In a joint statement, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said both sides had agreed to return to formal negotiations.

The statement said no other details would be released.

Meanwhile, the writers, who went on strike Nov. 5, would continue on the picket line, said Gregg Mitchell, a spokesman for the guild.

Some writers applauded the return to talks.

"That's fabulous, that's great," said Sean Jablonski, a writer for the FX drama "Nip/Tuck." "You can't get a deal until two sides sit down and talk about it."

John Aboud, a TV writer and a strike captain, said he hoped a return to talks would quickly lead to a contract.

"I'm delighted to see they're starting to move forward, and I hope we can wrap this thing up soon," Aboud said.

It's unclear what pushed both sides back to the table. The strike has been bruising and very public, with writers being joined by actors on picket lines and producers taking out full-page newspaper ads to tell their side of the story.

Since the strike began Nov. 5, late-night talk shows and several sitcoms have gone to reruns. Other shows are counting down the number of episodes they have left before running out of scripts.

Industry analysts had thought there would be enough scripts to produce shows well into January. But many shows have gone off the air at a faster pace than expected, as cast members and show runners have refused to cross picket lines.

Compensation for shows offered on the Internet is at the heart of the dispute.

The producers have said they are offering writers a share of licensing fees paid by Web sites to stream shows. The union has rejected the offer, saying the payments wouldn't begin until six weeks after a show goes online and viewer interest is nearly exhausted.

Writers also want a cut of revenue from non-skippable ads contained in many shows streamed free online. The alliance slammed the door on that demand.

The previous writers' walkout in 1988 lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry $500 million. The entertainment industry contributes an estimated $30 billion a year to the Los Angeles economy, or about $80 million a day.

(Daisy Nguyen, Associated Press)

Soaps in a cliffhanger

When veteran soap opera writers heard ABC's official statement about the strike-filled future of its daytime dramas -- "We will continue to produce original programming with no repeats and without interruption" -- they knew it was bad news. If history repeats itself, it meant they would be replaced, as soon as necessary, by strike breakers, nonunion writers -- or maybe even the producers themselves.

"They'll write it however they can get it written," said Marlene Clark Poulter, a 17-year soap opera writer on strike from DirecTV's "Passions."

While the writers strike has forced late-night talk shows into reruns and halted production of some prime-time shows, the soaps face extra hurdles that some people fear may jeopardize the struggling genre altogether.

"Daytime can't run reruns. It's a different business," said Lynn Leahey, editorial director for Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly. Prime-time audiences are used to seeing reruns when the shows are on hiatus, she said, but long absences from the airwaves have hurt all soap operas in the past: Once viewers lose the habit, they often disappear for good.

"Our audience watches because they've been watching for a long time," said Michele ValJean, a 15-year writer on ABC's "General Hospital" on the picket line. "We lost 8 million viewers over the O.J. Simpson trial who never came back."

Networks can't afford to lose those viewers -- mainly because there aren't that many left. Even the most popular daytime drama, CBS's "The Young and the Restless," would have been canceled 15 years ago with its current ratings of 4.6 million households. Older fans have not been replaced by younger ones despite efforts to reach them with supernatural plot lines or Web-related material. Canceled soaps, such as NBC's "Sunset Beach," haven't been replaced.

Others might be hanging by a thread. Of nine remaining daytime soaps, NBC's "Days of Our Lives" and "Passions" rank lowest with 2.4 million and 1.6 million households, respectively, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Soap writers fear that the studios will replace them, even before prepared scripts run out, to keep the flow of daily stories continuing.

During the five-month writers' strike in 1988, the soaps aired uninterrupted because so many people were willing and eager to try their hand at writing. "I know some actors who can't wait to get hold of a pen," Leahey said.

She and others worry about a domino effect. If the quality of the writing suffers, viewers could be alienated and tune out. And then the networks might drop the soaps altogether.

"This time, unlike 1988, you've got a real possibility of people going to the Internet or the PlayStation. There are so many other options nowadays for people to get their entertainment, it's almost a calculated risk. They could win the battle but lose the war," said television historian Wesley Hughes, author of "The Soap Opera Encyclopedia."

For the moment, the fears are only speculation. Network officials say their pipelines are well stocked. ABC said scripts for its soaps "One Life to Live," "General Hospital" and "All My Children" were written "well into the new year," according to a network statement. NBC has scripts to take its sole soap, "Days of Our Lives," through January. Likewise, CBS's "The Young and the Restless," "The Bold and the Beautiful," "As the World Turns" and "Guiding Light" are set through January, representatives said.

After that? Network executives declined to discuss how they would keep the plot pumps primed. To make it work, producers would need to find a team of writers, not just one or two, who know the show intimately enough to turn out satisfactory scripts. Soap writers, who live in various regions across the country, tend to write together over conference calls.

(Lynn Smith, Los Angeles Times)

'Dancing' finale delayed

Due to WTAE's carrying next Monday's Steelers game in prime time, ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" won't air live. Channel 4 will instead air it Tuesday at 9 a.m. with highlights on the morning news at 6:15 and 6:45 a.m.

Other pre-empted shows will air in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, including "Samantha Who?" (1:05 a.m.), the season premiere of "Notes From the Underbelly" (1:35 a.m.) and "October Road" (2:05 a.m.).

(Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor)

Channel surfing

A celebrity edition of NBC's "The Apprentice" kicks off Jan. 3, airing at 9 p.m. Thursday. Celebs playing for charity include Trace Adkins, Carol Alt, Stephen Baldwin, Nadia Comaneci, Tiffany Fallon, Jennie Finch, Nely Galan, Marilu Henner, Lennox Lewis, Piers Morgan, former "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa, Tito Ortiz, Vincent Pastore and Gene Simmons. ... The CW's "One Tree Hill" returns for a new season Jan. 8. ... NBC has picked up the broadcast rights to the online series "Quarterlife." Initially rejected as a pilot by ABC, the series, from writers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick ("Once and Again"), began airing in eight-minute installments this month on MySpace. Hourlong episodes will air on NBC next year. ... Pittsburgher Justin Mazzei will be a contestant on CBS's "The Price Is Right" (11 a.m. weekdays) on Nov. 30.

(R.O.)