LOS ANGELES — As 10 writers for the hit CBS drama “NCIS” returned to work Wednesday following a 100-day strike, Shane Brennan, the show’s writer-producer, asked a question that drew blank stares. “Can anyone remember what we were working on three months ago?”
Mr. Brennan was not alone in asking the question. Similar scenes played out in dozens of writers’ conference rooms in New York and the Los Angeles area as the entertainment industry — and particularly the television business — sought to jump-start production. The strike, which was formally called off Tuesday night by the Writers Guild of America, had halted production of 46 one-hour dramas and 17 comedies.
Mr. Brennan, whose show is watched by about 18 million viewers each week, instructed nine writers seated around a large table to forget the various plots they had been working on before the walkout. “All we’re going to do is waste a day trying to remember it,” he said. He added with a chuckle, “While I sound like I know what I’m talking about, and that I have a plan, I really am making this up as I go.”
Returning to work for many writers resulted in an emotion akin to what they remembered experiencing on their first day of high school. There was the giddy mood accompanying the start of something new and fresh — and the nervous pit in their stomachs as they made the transition from mostly idle days to a daunting work load. And who was that guy in the corner? “I almost didn’t recognize you with that new beard,” said Mr. Brennan to Greg Weidman, a production assistant.
Some writers said they were excited to unpack a favorite coffee mug that had been tossed into a box back in November, while others arrived to take down Halloween decorations now four months expired. On the Warner Brothers lot, home to shows including “ER,” “Without a Trace” and “Gossip Girl,” custodians said they helped cart out a dead plant or two.
Chatter centered on how relieved everyone was that the strike was finally finished. “As I drove into work today, I just thought, ‘Thank God people are going to be able to come back to work and support their families and get on with their lives,’ ” said Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of “Medium,” the NBC drama starring Patricia Arquette as a mother with psychic powers.
“I’m really, really, really, really happy to be back,” he said. “Wait. I want to add another ‘really’ to that.”
In New York, Warren Leight, the writer-producer of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” was tucking into a delivered lunch with a bustling office filled with writers, producers and researchers. The “Criminal Intent” crew had no scripts banked when work stopped on Nov. 5, so on Wednesday they were just beginning to map out storylines for the next five episodes of the series.
“It’s like putting a harness back on,” he said. “Actually, like putting 10 harnesses back on.”
With the writers back, a sense of hustle and bustle returned to the studio lots in Los Angeles and Burbank, Calif. Teamsters who refused to cross picket lines, snarling the transport of movie sets during the strike, smiled and waved at guards as they drove through the wrought-iron gates of Paramount Pictures. Studio cafeterias cooked more food. And casting directors, waiting around for new scripts to fill with guest stars, started working the phones again.
The strike may officially be over, but the dust won’t settle anytime soon. In the coming days, writers must vote on the tentative contract that was hammered out between studio executives and guild leaders in recent weeks. Although it is expected to pass — union leaders characterized portions involving payment for the streaming of programs on the Web as a “huge victory” — a lot of guild members said they will retain raw feelings about how they were treated by producers during the strike.
Many writers found themselves with no jobs waiting after the strike. Some shows, like “Big Shots” on ABC, were canceled during the walkout because of low ratings. Some writers, like those who work on “Heroes,” will have to wait several months before production resumes because networks have decided to delay those shows’ return.
And writers made clear they are still coping with the aftermath of a strike. Walking picket lines may have done wonders for their tans (at least in Los Angeles), but left some with back and foot problems. Mr. Leight said securing child care is a big issue for writers who have been at home since November. “People are mustering as quickly as they can,” he said.
While nobody will miss the picket line — except perhaps writers who were out of work to begin with — Mr. Leight conceded that it gave writers a visibility few have ever had. Rather than being picket-line stars supported by fans and interviewed by the news media, “everybody has to go back to being a working class stiff,” he said.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County officials were still working to tabulate the cost of the strike on the local economy. About $3.2 billion was the latest guess from Jack Kyser, the chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
Mr. Kyser said writers and production workers lost $772 million in wages. The strike also led to $981 million in lost revenue at businesses that service the industry, Mr. Kyser said.
The Smoke House, a 62-year-old eatery across from the Warner Brothers lot, is sure happy the strike is over. The restaurant, whose red Naugahyde booths have been a favorite of stars from Judy Garland to George Clooney (who has named his production company for it), saw revenue slide 17 percent in recent months, according to Lee Spencer, the owner. Taking a particular toll were the lack of so-called “wrap parties,” or informal gatherings after production is completed.
“A whole cast and crew might come over and drop $5,000 to $10,000 on somebody’s black American Express,” Mr. Lee said. “It’s the cream-puff stuff like that we need to run a healthy business.” Mr. Lee said he had to cut the hours of employees, including those of the lounge singer Irene Cathaway.
Mr. Lee, like many other business owners interviewed, said the reservation line started ringing with more frequency as soon as rumors started to spread that writers were getting close to a deal that would end the walkout. “Bam! Right back to normal,” he said.
Despite the outsized shadow it casts on Los Angeles, the entertainment industry only employs about 250,000 in the region, out of about 4.17 million total jobs, not counting farming. So the city hardly ground to a halt — despite the dire predictions made by some studio executives and news media outlets at the strike’s outset. Many visitors to Los Angeles, along with a large swath of the local population, were untouched, Mr. Kyser said.
Some establishments might actually see a reverse effect now that the strike has been resolved. At Raffles L’Ermitage, a luxury hotel that operates a popular industry watering hole called the Writers Bar, revenue climbed 20 percent during the strike, according to Jack Naderkhani, the general manager.
“Many in the industry considered the bar to be neutral territory,” he said. Or, as a hotel spokeswoman pondered in an e-mail, “Maybe there’s some comfort in hanging out in a place with your name on it” when you are out of work.