The Writers Guild of America went on strike on May 2, 2023 after their contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended. These bigger Hollywood studios and the WGA never came to an agreement on the contract's renewal, which means that production on a lot of scripted series, late night shows, and movies has been delayed — and the industry is already feeling the effects. Here's what's been impacted so far.
Stranger Things
Image via Netflix
Stranger Things. (L to R) Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, and Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in "Stranger Things."
"Writing does not stop when filming begins," Matt and Ross Duffer, co-creators and co-showrunners, tweeted on May 6. "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."
Late Night Talk Shows
Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC, Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS, Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers on NBC, The Daily Show on Comedy Central, and Real Time With Bill Maher and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver on HBO have all stopped production.
Spider-Man 4
Image via Columbia Pictures/Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures/IMDb
During the New York City premiere of A Crowded Room, Tom Holland told Variety that a fourth Spider-Man was in its very early stages of development.
“I can say that we have been having meetings. We’ve put the meetings on pause in solidarity with the writers,” he said. “There’s been multiple conversations had, but at this point it’s very, very early stages.”
American Horror Story
Production on the newest season of AHS, which is set to star Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian, has halted.
"WGA members picketing in New York today shut down production on American Horror Story at Silvercup Studios with support from fellow union members in IATSE and Teamsters, who refused to cross the picket line," Kaitlin Fontana tweeted.
SNL
Image via Will Heath/NBC
“SNL will air repeats until further notice starting Saturday, May 6,” NBC said on May 2, via Variety. The show was supposed to break for hiatus on May 20 and will air reruns for an unknown period of time.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight’
On May 7, author George R. R. Martin published a blog post confirming that the new Game of Thrones spinoff had ceased preproduction, while season two of House of the Dragon has already begun filming.
"The scripts for the eight s2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began," Martin says. "The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast and crew… and of course the dragons)."
Yellowjackets
Co-creator Ashley Lyle confirmed on Twitter that after one day in the writer's room for season three, pre-production has stopped: "It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I’m very excited to get back to it as soon as the #WGA gets a fair deal."
Cobra Kai
Image via Netflix
Co-creator Jon Hurwitz tweeted on May 2 that production on the next season of this Netflix show had stopped.
"We hate to strike, but if we must, we strike hard," he says. "Pencils down in the Cobra Kai writers room. No writers on set. These aren't fun times, but it's unfortunately necessary."
Blade
The Marvel film has been paused because of the WGA strike, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Abbott Elementary
Writing for Abbott Elementary's third season was intended for May 2, the same day the strike began. Writer Brittani Nichols says in an interview with Democracy Now! that the season could be delayed as a whole: "That could change the amount of episodes, which people I’m sure will be very upset about. It could change the air date. It could change a lot of different things.”
“I am a writer. I’m in the wga. I’m also on strike!" creator, executive producer, and star Quinta Brunson tweeted. "I have no real power here other than to join my union in demanding fair compensation for writers!”
Daredevil: Born Again
After disrupting the series' film schedule on May 8, Daredevil: Born Again shut down for the rest of the week on May 10.
Good Trouble
Image via Mike Taing/Freeform
WGA picketers stopped production for Freeform's Good Trouble on May 9. "They got NO shooting done today. We got this done with a small crew of writers who started at 4am, and the cavalry of the Teamsters grips, electricians, crew etc.," @JorgeCoolReyes tweeted.
The Chi
The Chi shut down on May 12 after "@IATSE 476 and @Teamsters Local 727 refused to cross the picket line," @ZaydDohrn tweeted.
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School
Image via Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max
Filming for Pretty Little Liars: Summer School was interrupted by the strike.
Daytime Emmy Awards
On May 16th, The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that the Daytime Emmy Awards would be postponed.
"We look forward to our community gathering together as one to celebrate our Golden Anniversary and all of the talented nominees and honorees at a later date," President & CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement.
The Penguin
The Batman spinoff series, was shut down for the day on May 16. Picketers also came to strike "outside a Harlem cemetery, to defend Gotham from The Penguin," according to a tweet from @warrenleightTV.
Severance
Season two of the series, starring Adam Scott , Britt Lower, and Patricia Arquette has paused production. But that didn't stop the cast from joining the picket line!
Ava DuVernay's Drama
This unnamed series, starring Lauren Ridloff and Joshua Jackson, has been filming in Wilmington, NC, and has decided to suspend production.
Emily in Paris
Image via Netflix
Filming for the new season of the hit Netflix show has been delayed for at least two months, via Variety.
Keep an eye on our Entertainment page for more breaking news.
Lead image via Stéphanie Branchu/Netflix
This post has been updated.
