Despite an attempt by producers to bank scripts to continue filming movies and TV shows during the Hollywood writers' strike, the labour dispute — still in its early days — has already forced an increasing number of television shows to shut down production.

ABC's Grey's Anatomy cast member Katherine Heigl joins the Writers Guild of America picket line at Prospect Studios in support of fellow TV and film writers on strike in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

By Wednesday, a host of prime-time sitcoms — including comedy hit The Office — had stopped filming, some because cast and crew members  refused to cross picket lines.

Also, picketing writers have been bolstered by their acting colleagues —including Ugly Betty star America Fererra, the casts of Grey's Anatomy and ER and Oscar-winner Sally Field from Brothers & Sisters — joining them on the picket lines in the Los Angeles area and in New York.

Writers "are not being allowed to participate in the future of the business," said Field, who won an Oscar in 1979 for the pro-union film Norma Rae.

"This can be a very lucrative field, but also incredibly insecure for all of the artists, writers, actors and directors."

Many scripted dramas, including Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters, will also be forced to end production in the coming weeks as producers run out of scripts.

With so many shows ending production, studios are having to juggle their upcoming schedules and prepare replacement programming.

For instance, U.S. network Fox announced it has postponed the upcoming January debut of its hit thriller 24 because only one-third of the episodes had been completed before the strike began Monday.

The real-time series, which already saw production delays because of the recent California wildfires, is typically broadcast each week with no breaks.

"It's not a decision we wanted to make, but it's one based on how we feel the viewers expect us to schedule the show," Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman told trade publication Hollywood Reporter.

Studios are expected to announce their alternative programming plans over the next few days.

Talks failed Sunday, pickets out Monday

Last-minute talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed late Sunday and the strike began Monday morning — with its most immediate effect being the scuttling of late-night comedy shows.

No new talks have been scheduled and some analysts have been predicting a long standoff between the two sides.

Among the major issues on the table are residuals payments for writers when their work is offered on DVDs and on new platforms, such as on the internet or via cellphones.

Former Walt Disney chair and CEO Michael Eisner dubbed the strike "stupid" in a speech at the Dow Jones/Nielsen Media and Money conference.

According to Eisner, who runs a private investment firm, writers are giving up their current income in a bid for revenue from the unproven new digital streams.

"They should not have gone on the strike. I've seen stupid strikes, I've seen less stupid strikes, and this strike is just a stupid strike," he said.

"Digital will eventually be the dominant medium for distribution but not yet."

The last WGA strike took place in 1988, when the writers walked out for 22 weeks. The action is estimated to have cost the industry more than $500 million US.

With files from the Associated Press