Natasha Lyonne and Rob Lowe were among the actors on the picket lines for the first day of the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) strike.
On Monday (1 May) night, the union representing Hollywood writers voted “unanimously” to strike for the first time in 15 years, after talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), who represent most major studios and streaming services, broke down.
The strikes came into place at 12.01am on Tuesday (2 May), with writers from across the industry picketing the offices of studios and streamers such as Paramount Pictures, Peacock and Netflix.
Russian Doll creator and star Natasha Lyonne and Parks and Recreation’s Rob Lowe were both seen outside the Paramount offices in Los Angeles.
Community’s Gillian Jacobs, Ike Barinholtz, and Frances Fisher were also photographed out in support, while Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator and star Rachel Bloom posted pictures from the picket line.
In New York, Saturday Night Live’s Aidy Bryant and …And Just Like That’s Sara Ramirez were photographed waving t-shirts and placards at the picket line.
“Showing up in solidarity with @wgaeast for the Writers Guild strike and picket line in NYC. Better contracts NOW! The content we consume (and some of us perform) would be NOTHING without writers,” Ramirez wrote on Instagram.
SNL has been one of the first shows to shut down due to the strike, with Pete Davidson’s return as host no longer going ahead this weekend.
Bryant shared a video to Instagram of herself and fellow SNL cast member Sarah Sherman on the picket line in New York.
More than 11,500 writers across film, television and other entertainment forms represented by the union are expected to go on strike, with multiple US late night shows already announcing that they are going on hiatus.
The last writers’ strike took place for 100 days between 2007 and 2008, during which nearly 25 per cent of primetime scripted programming was lost completely. The industrial action largely centred around royalties from DVD sales.
Among the series to have seasons cut short due to the writers strike were Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Friday Night Lights, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, and The Simpsons.
