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The writers' strike in Hollywood might feel a world away but the repercussions will soon be felt here.
Local networks are about to launch their new season series, many of which are incomplete due to the industrial action.
So we're likely to be left hanging as the big American series on TV2 and TV3 end about halfway into their traditional 22-24 episode runs.
"We're still launching all our series where we were planning to, give or take the odd little change, but we're having to be more mindful in what we do now in terms of later in the year," says TV3 programmer Kelly Martin.
The CSI franchise, which draws from three strands of the show including CSI Miami and CSI NY, can provide enough new episodes on Sunday nights for most of the year. But the strike has made a big impact on the longevity of the popular Heroes, with the second season finishing next week, way ahead of schedule. Thanks to its comic-book nature, the stories will be concluded in a specially written finale, unlike some of the serialised dramas which will simply run out.
Life, about a detective who went to prison for a crime he didn't commit, will run in Heroes' place, followed by Prison Break, of which just nine episodes have been produced. House (12 episodes) and Boston Legal (14) will start the following week.
Depending on how quickly new episodes can be produced when the strike ends, the network will plug the gaps with reruns, just as the US networks are doing now. TV3 says it also has some local material up its sleeve.
Popular reality shows Top Chef and The Biggest Loser will also return to TV3 late this month.
TV2's new season won't kick off until February but it too will face challenges due to incomplete series.
Lost has produced just eight episodes in its fourth season, (none of which have aired in the US yet). Desperate Housewives has produced 10, Grey's Anatomy and Men In Trees 11, and Ugly Betty 13. That's a significant loss of material considering the previous series of Grey's had 25 episodes and Betty 22.
But programmer Jane Wilson says there is plenty to go on with later in the year, including series one and two of BBC's Torchwood, the second of Primeval, Army Wives, October Road and Supernatural.
Shorter runs of Scrubs, Two and a Half Men and ER will also start next month, as will Dirty Sexy Money, a new family drama starring Peter Krause and Donald Sutherland.
TV2 also has new local shows coming up, including Even My Pet's a Porker, a weight-loss programme for pets and their owners, and Singing Bee, a music gameshow based on an international format.
Meanwhile, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart continued screening on C4 this week (10pm, Tue-Fri), without its writers on board.
TV One, which is largely unaffected by the strike, will launch its new season early next month, including the new BBC series, Mistresses, about four 30-something female friends involved in complex romantic relationships.
In the meantime, Cold Case returns to TV One late this month, and new local series Beyond The Darklands will examine the lives of New Zealand's worst murderers.
Prime's new season launches in March. Yet-to-be-scheduled shows include the Golden Globe-nominated Mad Men, and returning series Weeds, Stargate Atlantis, and Psych.
British newbies include the Billie Piper drama Secret Diaries of a Callgirl and two new BBC documentary series. Flight of the Conchords start filming their second series in the next few months.
