Talk is starting to spread around Hollywood that the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are close to signing a deal that would end the strike that has been ongoing since the beginning of November. Whether it's true or not, we'll just have to wait and see. But if the strike were to end this week, what would happen with some of the seasons of shows that have been butchered so far? Can any of them be saved? TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello tackled that very question and decided to ask "Pushing Daisies" creator Bryan Fuller on what might happen. "Even if the strike ends in the next week or two, it looks like they will scuttle the rest of the season" of "Pushing Daisies," Fuller said. "This is for many reasons. One is that it will be hard to launch a big promotional campaign for four or five episodes; it's just not cost effective. Two is that if we did come back, we would land right in the path of the 'American Idol' juggernaut, and would likely be decimated. "Three is if we came back in the fall with a full slate of episodes, then ABC could relaunch the show in a big way." Fuller said that if the strike were to end, the first order of business is to get the writers back to work and writing the second season and stockpile scripts for June. "But that's all tentative," Fuller said. "We've talked about so many options since the strike began and they fluctuate on a weekly basis. But right now, a short first season seems the most likely." Not for all shows, however. Ausiello said a source with one of the networks told him it's possible that shows could go back into production to not only produce a few more episodes for this season, but episodes for next season as well. This would not only give them a head start, but also justify the expense of resuming production this season. But even that plan has some drawbacks. "The trouble is, a lot of actors schedule hiatus movies, or just elaborate vacations," a source told Ausiello. "And if they ask them to work through certain dates, that could trigger some contract issues." So the strike may be coming close to an end, but there's still no word on how we'll get our favorite television shows back ... but at least they'll be back, right? Make sure you check out Michael Ausiello's "Ask Ausiello" column every week in TV Guide. You can find it by clicking here.