Beginning this week Tuesday (2 May), the Writers Guild of America officially took action to protest unfair wages.
While the immediate effects of this landmark writers’ strike can already be seen – all late-night talk shows have been temporarily cancelled – the long-term implications could be major for many scripted projects.
Here’s a list of the TV shows and movies that have been impacted by the picket lines.
Late-Night Talk Shows
Network shows including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CBS’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers, are going on hiatus, with repeats expected to run in their place.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, which has been hosted by a rotation of comedians since Trevor Noah’s exit, will also be paused.
Meanwhile, live production of streaming shows such as HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has halted.
Writing for the third season of ABC’s breakout mockumentary Abbott Elementary, created by and starring Quinta Brunson, was supposed to begin on 2 May. However, the writers’ room has since shut down.
During a recent appearance on PBS’s Democracy Now!, writer Brittani Nichols discussed the implications the strike could have “on the amount of episodes” they’d be able to complete.
“We are a show that writes while we air,” Nicols said. “If this strike goes on for a significant period of time, our show will not come out on time”.
Netflix’s popular adult cartoon Big Mouth was only six weeks into writing the eighth and final season. Had a strike not happened, writing would’ve finished in August, Variety reports.
Cobra Kai
Jon Hurwitz, a writer for Netflix’s Karate Kid spinoff series, Cobra Kai, tweeted that the season six writers’ room have put their “pencils down”, leaving “no writers on set”.
The writing for the second season of the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s best-selling novel Good Omens has been completed, with its debut expected sometime this summer.
However, the author, who has joined the strike, tweeted he “may not be able to promote [season two] as I’d hoped”.
NBC’s sketch comedy series, Saturday Night Live, has also come to a stop. Former cast member Pete Davidson, who was scheduled to host the 6 May episode, said the cancellation of his episode “sucks”.
The Talk
CBS has stopped production on its long-running chat show The Talk amid the strike. Although, previous episodes, which had already been recorded, will still air as scheduled.
Showtime’s hit thriller, Yellowjackets, was only one day into writing for its third season when things shut down.
Series co-creator Ashley Lyle posted the update on Twitter, along with a positive note: “It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I’m really excited to get back to it as soon as the WGA gets a fair deal.”
To learn more about why Hollywood writers are striking, read here and find out all the celebrities who have joined the picket lines here.
The MTV TV & Movie Awards
Drew Barrymore dropped out of hosting the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with the Hollywood writers’ strike.
“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” she released in a statement.
The event’s red carpet has also been cancelled, however, the awards show is still set to air live on Sunday (7 May), without a host and any Writers Guild of America members.
Blade
The Hollywood Reporter reported 5 May that Marvel had shut down pre-production on the Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali.
The reboot of the Wesley Snipes classic is also set to feature Aaron Pierre, Delroy Lindo and Mia Goth.
The project has been hit by wave after wave of setbacks since its announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019.
