The switch that controls the television business is expected to be flicked on all the way early this week, initiating a flurry of activity that may begin to restore the regularly scheduled programming interrupted when the writers’ strike shut down major parts of the television season.

But the first move since the writers and producers reached a tentative deal after a three-month walkout was another shutdown. The new season of the Fox series “24” has been officially postponed for a year. And another serialized hit, NBC’s “Heroes,” will probably not produce any further new episodes this season.

Another of television’s most popular serialized dramas, ABC’s “Lost,” will probably cut its planned 16-episode season to about 13 episodes.

Other potential poststrike developments include an extension of several shows past May, the traditional end of the season, and a relatively quick turnaround for some comedy series like “Two and a Half Men” on CBS and “The Office” on NBC. Much longer waits are likely for the return of top dramas like “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC and “CSI” on CBS.

Perhaps the show that will most benefit from the end of the strike is the ABC broadcast of the Academy Awards, set for Feb. 24. While the host, Jon Stewart, will have only about two weeks to work with writers on his introductory monologue, organizers hope the show will be welcomed with open arms by viewers starved for a full-dress celebration of celebrity.

Still, while it may take several months for production schedules to return to normal, forecasts of a radical restructuring of the television business in the wake of the strike might have been premature. Or so several senior network executives said Sunday, assuming the writers return to work this week as expected.

All of the executives spoke on condition of anonymity because the return of striking members of the Writers Guild of America was still dependent on Tuesday’s vote. Until then, a news blackout was considered to be in effect.

One longtime network executive said in a telephone interview: “Some of the bold pronouncements about major shake-ups in the business may not come true. My prediction is the business will drift back toward business as usual.”

That would contradict some earlier statements by executives, especially at NBC. Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, said in a speech last month that the strike might have been a “forest fire,” one that left some destruction but also the opportunity for “fertile soil, clear ground and an opportunity for robust growth.”

Mr. Zucker said the strike might make it possible to change, among other things, the method for developing series, which tends to be concentrated in an intense period every winter and spring, and the garish upfront presentations the networks stage every May to sell their new shows to advertisers.

The Fox network has said it will hold its upfront presentation as normal this year, and another network said Sunday it probably would as well.

That leaves the development cycle as a potential target for change, and it certainly won’t be the same this year. The strike wiped out the prime months for polishing pilot scripts. One senior network executive predicted a “greatly truncated process” this season, with what he termed “a lot of smoke and mirrors, or at least more than usual” to offer to advertisers in May.

That may be because networks will not have a lot of time to make judgments on existing shows between now and May. Several network executives said the best these shows could offer is four to six new episodes for drama series and perhaps as many as eight for the comedies. And some shows may not be brought back at all. One executive with long program experience said, “We’ll take as much new material as we can get.”

Chuck Lorre, who produces the CBS series “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory,” is expected to get back up to speed quickly on “Two and a Half Men,” probably delivering eight new episodes that would be broadcast beginning in early April.

Every network has been holding tentative scheduling meetings about what to do as soon as the strike ends. CBS and ABC have the most incentive to get their regular shows back into production because they had the most popular shows wiped off the air by the strike.

One executive noted that the networks had already made strike contingency plans and spent money to promote fill-in shows. CBS, for example, put effort into publicizing the arrival of “Big Brother,” usually a summer series, later this month, as well as “Dexter,” a drama that’s already played on Showtime. NBC has hopes for “Psych,” a show it is transporting from its first run on a sister cable network, USA.

Fox has the least reason to be concerned about strike fallout. That’s because it has dominated the ratings during the walkout — as it will probably continue to — with “American Idol” and its new reality success “The Moment of Truth.” It will try to get a few more episodes of its drama “House” as well as its comedies “Back to You” and “ ’Til Death.” But with less pressure to fill schedule holes until the end of May, Fox network decided to withhold “24” until January, even though 8 of the planned 24 episodes had been completed.

The network at one point considered breaking the series into two 12-hour parts, with the second half running in fall. Then it decided that would risk driving some viewers away by breaking the story in the middle.

“Heroes,” meanwhile, may fall victim to its dependence on special effects, which take a long time in preproduction to execute.

The network executives agreed that a full assessment of the strike’s fallout is not possible yet.

“You really won’t know if damage was done until fall,” one senior network executive said. “That’s when we’ll see if the audience comes back.”