Striking Writers' Hit The Office and Others Hard

Get your scorecards handy, because this is only the beginning of the strike-related fallout you'll wanna keep track of: • Although a location manager for CBS' Cane hired two security guards to help out while the show shot scenes from a long-completed script at a Hollywood cafe, 20 angry writers who were yelling and using a bullhorn brought the production to a halt anyway. • ABC has postponed the debut of its Sex and the City rip-off, Cashmere Mafia to sometime after Jan. 1. The Nov. 27 Dancing with the Stars finale is being expanded to two full hours to fill the void. • Sometime-writer Steve Carell didn't report to The Office yesterday, Rainn Wilson called in sick, and B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling, who are members of the show's writing staff, were on strike. As a result, only two scenes managed to get shot. • Ellen DeGeneres bailed on her show yesterday "in support of her writers," her publicist said. —Ben Katner