Hollywood on strike: What now for your favourite TV shows?
Hollywood’s writers are on strike and this will have serious repercussions for some of your favourite TV shows and movies. We look at what shows are delayed and when they might return.
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When Hollywood’s writers downed pens last month (read, shut down their laptops) to demand higher wages, better working conditions, increased residual payments (particularly around the rise of streaming) and regulations put in place for the growing spectre of AI, the fate of many of our favourite TV shows were thrown into utter chaos.
But the writers – led by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) – stood their ground.
“The studios have devalued our contributions,” Abbott Elementary writer Brittani Nichols said in early May.
“They have shifted the industry to prioritise streaming, without making sure that our pay reflects those changes.”
But as the strike moves into its second month, global hit shows such as Stranger Things, The Last of Us, The Handmaid’s Tale, The White Lotus, Billions, Severance, and the highly anticipated new Game of Thrones spin-off remain stuck in Hollywood limbo, with no concrete answer on when they’ll return to our screens – if ever. Indeed, the Hollywood Reporter claimed that some in-progress productions stopped during the strike may not return when it’s over.
(Considerations will include the number of remaining episodes left to film in the season, the availability of the cast and the importance of the show to its platform.)
Last week, the Directors Guild of America struck a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios on a three-year contract, raising hopes the same could soon happen with the WGA.
But until then, it might be awhile before we see our favourite shows back on screen.
Here, we take a look at some of the major TV shows that have been affected by the strike so far.
STRANGER THINGS
Twins Matt and Ross Duffer (the Duffer Brothers), who created the hit supernatural Netflix drama, said work on the show’s fifth season is on hold during the strike.
“Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike,” they wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then – over and out. #wgastrong.”
THE HANDMAID’S TALE
Writing on the dystopian drama’s sixth and final season, which stars Elisabeth Moss and Aussie Yvonne Strahovski, has paused while the strike continues.
“The existential nature of this fight has become clear to everyone,” co-showrunner and executive producer Yahlin Chang said on the WGA’s website.
THE LAST OF US
According to Variety, casting has been delayed for the second season of the massive global hit, which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, purely because there are no scripts for the actors to read from.
Before the production process stopped, actors were reportedly auditioning using lines taken directly from the video game, The Last of Us Part II, which the series is based on.
BILLIONS
According to Deadline, protesters interrupted filming on the Wall Street financial drama twice during the first week of the strike.
Strikers prevented filming from taking place at various locations around New York. Comedian Amy Schumer joined protests on the front lines in Brooklyn, and former Sopranos and Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco joined strikers in New York.
SEVERANCE
The TV poster child for the writers’ strike. There is perhaps no more appropriate show to be affected by the strike than Severance, which examines the lives of downtrodden employees at a shady biotech company who have had their personal and professional consciousnesses surgically separated.
Production on the show’s New York set, which stars Adam Scott and Oscar winner Patricia Arquette, screeched to a halt during week one of the strike as protesters picketed the show’s production studios.
“WGA members on strike walk the line for a sunrise picket at York Studios in the Bronx and Westchester, shutting down production on Severance, as members of IATSE and Teamsters respect our picket line,” The WGA East Twitter account wrote in early May.
HACKS
Filming on the third season of the Emmy Award-winning comedy Hacks also remains on hold. Co-creator Jen Statsky tweeted, “We are devastated to not be with our incredible crew and cast right now, but there was no other option here. Writing happens at every stage of the process – production and post included.”
Production had previously been shut down after star Jean Smart had a heart operation.
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS: THE HEDGE KNIGHT
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin said in a blog post that the writers’ room for prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, set a century before the events of Game of Thrones, was “closed for the duration of the strike”.
THE WHITE LOTUS/EUPHORIA
In an interview with Deadline, Francesca Orsi, HBO’s Head of Drama Series, revealed writing for the new seasons of global hits Euphoria and The White Lotus has stopped. Ms Orsi said that if the strike continues for six to nine months, more HBO projects will be significantly delayed.
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
The writers’ room of the Emmy-winning comedy, which recently wrapped its second season, is closed for business, star Sheryl Lee Ralph told the Today show in the US.
“They were supposed to be going back into the writers’ room (on May 3) to start on the third season,” Ralph said. “They won’t be.”
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
The long-running comedy sketch show went dark May 2 after the show’s writers went on strike.
Former SNL star, comedian (and Kim Kardashian’s ex) Pete Davidson, who had been slated to host the show that week showed his solidarity by delivering pizza to people on a picket line in Brooklyn.
US TALK SHOWS
Major US talk shows, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! are all on pause during the strike.
To combat the dead air five nights a week, networks are running re-runs.
MOVIES
Meanwhile, Marvel faces numerous headaches. Production has shut down on Deadpool 3, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, while Captain America: New World Order, and Thunderbolts (about a team of superheroes who aren’t Avengers) has paused.
It comes as Spider-Man star Tom Holland told Variety that meetings for the fourth instalment in the franchise were “put on pause in solidarity with the writers”.
Originally published as Hollywood on strike: What now for your favourite TV shows?
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