Exclusive: Grey's, Housewives Plot Post-strike Returns!

• Feb 3, 2008 06:28 PM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Paging the cast of Grey's Anatomy... you're needed back on set, STAT!

With a tentative agreement between striking writers and Hollywood moguls expected to be announced sometime this week, my moles at Grey's tell me that production on the show is expected to resume in early March. The plan is to shoot four or five episodes to air in April/May.

A similar scenario is expected to play out at three other ABC hits, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters. Conversely, freshman shows that have already been given full-season pickups (i.e. Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?) will likely restart production over the summer ahead of a fall relaunch. Expect a similar pattern to play out at CBS, NBC and Fox: Established shows returning in the spring; newer ones held till fall. The fate of heavily serialized shows like Lost, Heroes and 24 remains unclear.

Meanwhile, high-level sources close to the talks tell me that the WGA deal is close to the DGA deal, with a few exceptions - one of which represents a "major breakthrough."

Bottom line: There's a lot more than one measly football game to get excited about today. We're getting our TV shows back! Can I get a hallelujah in the comments section?