Sony Pictures Television has put regular cast members on two sitcoms - 'Til Death and How I Met Your Mother - on unpaid leave because production on the shows has been shut down due to the WGA strike.
The move is an indication that the WGA strike - which many TV actors have publicly supported - could pit America's TV studios up against the Screen Actors Guild as well as the writers' union.
In a statement, the SAG warned: "It has come to the attention of Screen Actors Guild that some producers may be asserting that a suspension of production of a television series at this time will be considered a hiatus and that the force majeure provisions of the SAG Television Agreement will be inapplicable. In the absence of extraordinary factual circumstances, any series production that is suspended at this time will require compliance with the force majeure provisions of the SAG Television Agreement."
The SAG's agreement gives studios three options in the event of a strike: they may hold onto series regulars and pay them a full salary, suspend them on half-pay for up to five weeks, or terminate them. If terminated, they are guaranteed a re-hire when production resumes. The SAG argues that putting the actors on unpaid leave while keeping them tied exclusively to the studio violates its agreement.
Source: DigitalSpy
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