Stranger Things season five production suspended

Stranger Things has suspended production on its upcoming final season, a decision that could hurt Netflix.

Stranger Things has been impacted by the writers strike. Picture: Tina Rowden/Netflix

Stranger Things has suspended production for its fifth and final season for the duration of the writers strike.

The series creators Matt and Ross Duffer tweeted, “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.

“We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then – over and out. #wgastrong.”

Production for the final eight episodes of Netflix’s signature series was due to start this month. The much-anticipated chapter was to wrap up Stranger Things’ epic story of the battle between good and evil, waged between a ragtag group of kids in Hawkins, Indiana, and the Upside Down monsters in an alternate dimension.

Netflix sources confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that production has been pushed until a time to be determined but the Duffers’ tweet suggested it won’t restart until the strike is over.

Stranger Things has halted production on its upcoming fifth season.

The writers strike started on Tuesday when negotiations between the union, the Writers Guild of America, and the studios broke down over a new collective agreement. The two bodies are at a stalemate when it comes to demands for more pay, minimum guaranteed work, the use of AI, streaming residuals and transparency.

The Duffers, like almost every writer in the industry, are WGA members and are prohibited from performing any writing duties during strike action.

While many shows have been disrupted by strike action, the Stranger Things move might actually hurt Netflix more than others. The sci-fi series remains one of the streamers’ most popular titles. Its fourth season clocked 1.4 billion hours watched.

If the series is delayed for too long, it’s something audiences will notice, which is bad news for Netflix as the streaming sector comes under increasing pressure from Wall Street.

In April, Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos said that while the company doesn’t want a strike, Netflix had “a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world, we can probably serve our members better than most”.

Among the many other projects that have been affected by the strike, it emerged over the weekend that Marvel movie Blade has suspended its pre-production despite plans to start filming next month.

Hacks has also shut down production on its third season and Unstable on its second season until the strike is over while writers rooms for Yellowjackets and Abbott Elementary were disbanded after convening for their upcoming seasons.

Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali’s Marvel movie, Blade, has suspended production. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Shows in production including Billions and American Horror Story have had to shut down temporarily after filming locations were disrupted by picketing writers. Evil will wrap up its fourth season early after the same while Loot has paused its second season.

American late-night shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live all went dark immediately when the strike was called.

It’s not clear how long the strike will go far but it’s understood the two sides are far apart on their disagreements. Many commentators have speculated the strike could go as long as the end of the year, which is when most streamers will start to feel the pinch of a suspended production pipeline.

It is widely expected the strike will last until the end of June or early July. The directors and actors unions are due to negotiate new agreements with the studios, with a June 30 deadline. If those guilds manage to sign a deal, it could provide a template for the writers union.

The directors and actors are holding the line on similar points of contention including residual pay and transparency from streamers.

The previous 2007-8 writers strike lasted 100 days and was estimated to have cost the Los Angeles economy upwards of $US2 billion.