Who Will Be the First Scabs?

The strike officially began at 12:01 this morning, and WGA rules stipulate that all writers must stop work immediately — but for some TV scribes that may not be so easy. Variety asks, what about the writer/actors on The Office, like B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling, and Paul Lieberstein, who presumably don’t want to see their characters disappear from the show? Will they show up for work today? Will they join picket lines? Or, will it be like Fight Club, with half of their personalities picketing and the other halves acting in new episodes in between bouts of acrobatic sex with Helena Bonham Carter?

What about Tina Fey, who writes, produces, and acts in 30 Rock (and who’s probably too invested in the show to have anyone else work on it)? The New York Times reports on an ad that ran in Variety last week, with the text “Pencils Down Means Pencils Down” and the signatures of 118 writer-producers (also called show runners), including Fey. We guess this means she’s picketing in front of Rockefeller Center right now. But if she’s not, will the WGA fine her? These are messy questions which we hope to answer just as soon as someone sends us pictures!

’Office’ co-stars caught in strike zone [Variety]
So-Called Show Runners Pick Sides in Looming Strike [NYT]