Finally, in the third month of a bitter strike by TV and screen writers, there's something in the air. At least a little something.

"I think that there's a cautious optimism out there right now," one writer told CBS News. "The general mood is pretty hopeful," said another.

The Writers Guild and the studios have started talking again, the ice broken after the Directors Guild reached a deal first.

The big issue remains how much directors, actors, and writers earn in royalties when their work is downloaded from the Internet.

The writers' strike has meant only 11 episodes of Grey's Anatomy in its fourth season - one that was supposed to mark the show's return to glory.

So the pressure to settle is huge, the writer's strike already costing Hollywood more than a billion dollars.

Continue reading this strike update ...

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.