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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The first strike by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got under way Monday with noisy pickets on both coasts — a walkout that will disrupt everything from late-night talk shows to soap operas.
Jay Leno made a midmorning stop at NBC studios in Burbank and visited with strikers after the network said his late-night show would immediately go into reruns.
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CBS, meanwhile, said "The Late Show with David Letterman" will also offer repeats all week.
KTLA-TV reported that fans of the "Ellen" talk show were told at the NBC lot that there would be no taping on Monday.
Comedy Central previously said "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" would likely go into repeats as well.
The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
The strike began after daylong talks Sunday failed to produce an agreement on payment to writers from shows offered on he Internet.
At the CBS lot in Studio City, about 40 people hoisted signs and applauded when picketing began.
Related: Late night TV to see initial damages
Related: How will the strike affect you? | 10 movies that will survive
Robert Port, a writer for the TV show "Numb3rs," said he was as ready as possible for what could be a long walkout.
"We live in Los Angeles, your bank account can never really be ready for this," he said.
Across town at the Paramount Pictures lot on Melrose Avenue, about 50 strikers dressed in jeans, athletic shoes and red strike T-shirts carried signs reading, "Writers Guild of America on Strike."
Drivers honked their horns as they passed the studio's landmark gate.
The first noisy strikers appeared outside the "Today" show set at Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered. The show is not directly affected by the strike because news writers are part of a different union.
A giant, inflated rat was displayed, as about 40 people shouted, "No contract, no shows!"
"They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation," said Jose Arroyo, a writer for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
"We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money," Arroyo said.
Diana Son, a writer for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," said she has three children and getting residuals was the only way she could take time off after giving birth.
"It's an extremely volatile industry," Son said.
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