To be honest, I never thought this lawsuit would get anywhere when I first heard about it several years ago. Writers of a certain age suing TV networks, production companies, and talent agencies? Yeah, good luck with that.

But it turns out I was wrong. The various companies have settled an age discrimination suit brought by 165 veteran writers (yes, over 40!) of some of your favorite TV shows, including M*A*S*H, Maude, Knot's Landing, All in the Family, Kojak, Falcon Crest, and many others. The plaintiffs get $70M.

It's been so long that we've heard anything about a possible actors strike that I kinda forgot all about it. Now it looks like we don't have to worry about it.

The Screen Actors Guild has made a tentative deal with producers and studios, so there will be no crazy interruption/chaos in our TV entertainment choices like we saw with the writers strike last year (remember that? Wasn't that fun?). The two major sticking points were compensation for new media (DVDs, online, etc) and when the contract would end. The two-year deal will be finalized this Sunday when the 71 member national board meets and votes on it. I'm sure a lot of members won't like the new contract but only half of the members have to vote for it to pass.

So if you've been worrying about a possible strike, you can exhale now. And get to work worrying about whether or not your favorite show will make it to the fall.

Oh, if only the "reality-free" tag above meant something else when it comes to this.

Just when you thought you could sit back in your comfy chair and watch TV this fall, comes news that possible Screen Actor's Guild strike that has been talked about for weeks is very close to actually happening. The deadline is June 30, and while a lot of people in the industry thought that the contracts signed at the end of the writer's strike earlier this year (ah, remember those days?) could serve as a blueprint, that might not be the case.