We're over two months into an industry-wide writers strike in Hollywood, which has shut down pre-production on a slew of scripted shows and movies. While it isn’t technically against guild rules, it is frowned upon for production to continue on pre-strike written projects. Many sets have shut down in solidarity with the writers as they picket for better pay and working conditions. However, Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story has opted to continue shooting its twelfth season and, recently, a producer of The Blacklist called out the FX show.
The continued work on AH12 is viewed as controversial, as it requires many industry professionals to cross the picket line. The studio where production takes place has become a picketing location, as many writers have organized lines in the vicinity. It would appear that some feel like the ongoing shoot is a slight to the writers, who are looking for solidarity as the Writers Guild of America fights for a better contract with the major studios. T Cooper, a WGAE strike captain and previous executive producer on The Blacklist, name-dropped AHS while speaking to Deadline and explained why he views this as a "hard" situation:
Who really knows [why]? But I will say that just from our perspective, I think what’s hard about seeing people like Kim Kardashian cross [the picket line] and seeing Ryan Murphy keep his production running is that these are folks who could have tremendous impact.
Kim Kardashian was announced as one of the co-leads for the season alongside Emma Roberts back in April. The reality star has been a target of much WGA grief, as she's continued to film the Ryan Murphy-produced show despite the union's urging to shut down production. Kardashian recently tweeted from the set and received major backlash from supporters of the WGA strike. As T Cooper alludes to, Kardashian is a major player in the entertainment industry and could theoretically be a driving force for the scribes' cause if she sided with them.
Ryan Murphy has also been scrutinized during this time. Not only has he chosen to continue to film his show, forcing many industry professionals to cross picket lines, but he also threatened to sue Warren Leight, a WGAE strike captain. Said lawsuit was sparked by a tweet Leight shared, in which he claimed that Murphy's employees would be "blackballed" if they walked out. After litigation was threatened, Leight took down the tweet, apologizing for his sentiments. At present, Murphy's show continues to shoot at Silvercup Studios and will be available for Hulu subscribers to stream sometime in the near future.
While AHS12 has opted to continue production and Kim Kardashian and Ryan Murphy have continued to work, many stars have publicly supported the writers. Secret Invasion's Dermot Mulroney walked off the set of The View as a public demonstration of support. In addition, Pete Davidson brought pizza to protestors, and Mark Ruffalo and Mariska Hargitay have both tweeted about their solidarity with the writers. More stars may be striking soon themselves, as the Screen Actors Guild contract will be up on July 12th.
The writers strike has delayed many projects, like Stranger Things, and Daredevil: Born Again and further delays could be on the horizon. Of course, American Horror Story Season 12 may not experience changes due to the fact that it's still shooting. Time will tell if that continues to be the case, and we'll also have to wait and see if the writers are able to agree upon a new deal with the studios. And as for whether others like The Blacklist's T Cooper calls out AHS as time goes on, that remains to be seen as well.
