If this thing goes too long, expect a diet of reality TV

Chicago TV viewers and moviegoers -- and Chicago itself -- would see little effect of a Hollywood writers' strike unless it went on for an extended period, although soap-opera addicts and fans of late-night talk shows would have it harder.

• Even TV shows set in Chicago, such as "ER," rarely shoot here and most already have worked ahead in that regard. In fact, movies shooting on location in town are more likely to be affected (no scene-by-scene rewrites on scripts already done). The Writers Guild of America has announced plans to picket in Los Angeles and New York, but pickets on location here would be minimal if at all.

• Film and TV producers have been working ahead and have scripts in the can. Most prime-time TV shows are said to be good into early next year, although an extended strike would cause new programs to start drying up not long after that.

• Shows produced on a daily basis would be the first to feel an effect. "The Tonight Show," "Late Night," "The Late Show" and even Comedy Central's "Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" all would go into reruns, although ABC's Jimmy Kimmel may wing it, ad-libbing without writers. Soap operas, too, soon would cease production. But reality shows would not be affected.

That's the real threatening news for TV viewers.