The LATimes‘ Matea Gold updates the situation with CBS News’ Democratic Debate in Los Angeles still set for Dec. 10. Gold writes, “Last week, the five top candidates said they would not participate in the debate if the news division’s WGA-represented news writers and other employees walked off the job.”

“CBS executives said that if the strike is not settled in time, they’re hoping the guild will agree not to picket to allow the debate to continue as a public service,” Gold writes.

It should be noted the planned 8pmET-9:30pmET debate is optional for CBS affiliates, which begs the question: without candidates, without a political director, and with a strong Monday night entertainment programming schedule, would CBS really be bummed if the debate didn’t happen?