WGA strike explained: Here’s how your favorite shows will be impacted
Here’s what you can expect from late night, streaming, network series, and reality programming.
After failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, Hollywood writers are taking to the picket line to demand fair pay from multi-billion dollar studios like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. It’s the first Hollywood writer walkout in more than 15 years, and means production on a number of TV series will come to a halt.
Now, you may be wondering how this affects the viewer — the reality TV fan, the SNL devotee, or the Roman Roy Succession stan. We’ve got answers. Below, see how your favorite shows will be impacted by the writers’ strike, and just how long it may go on for.
What happens to late-night shows?
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!
Jimmy Kimmel
| Credit: Randy Holmes via Getty Images
What about network TV?
The Goldbergs
Sam Lerner, Hayley Orrantia, and Wendi McLendon-Covey on ‘The Goldbergs’
| Credit: ABC/Scott Everett White
The majority of network TV shows have wrapped production for the summer and are already on hiatus (thank goodness we got to see what happened between Janine and Gregory on Abbott Elementary already!). But the writers’ strike could go on for months (the last writers’ strike in 2007-08 lasted 100 days) and could disrupt the fall premiere schedule if an agreement can’t be reached before end of May or June, when many writers’ rooms start to convene.
Speaking of Abbott, the writers’ room was set to convene for season 3 this week. Writer Brittani Nichols told Democracy Now! that the length of the strike could ultimately impact the upcoming season in a number of ways: “If this strike goes on for a significant period of time, our show will not come out on time and that could change the amount of episodes which people I’m sure will be very upset about.”
In terms of shows that are set to air their season (or series) finales in May, many had completed filming before the strike. For example, a source tells EW that current seasons of Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med won’t be impacted and will finish their seasons as planned.
Jumping to cable, both Succession and Yellowjackets have finished filming their current seasons, so there’s nothing to worry about there. However, Yellowjackets co-creator Ashley Lyle tweeted something similar to the Abbott situation about the season 3 writers’ room, which was only able to work one day before the strike.
Does the WGA strike include streaming too?
The Last of Us Season 1, Episode 9
‘The Last of Us’
| Credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO
Yes, but there is a catch. Streamers tend to produce their shows way ahead of schedule and will likely have plenty of episodes banked for the time being, though which shows and just how much they have ready is unknown. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos recently said on an earnings call that Netflix could “probably” serve their subscribers “better than most.” So while XO, Kitty and Queen Charlotte are safely hitting streaming soon, the same likely isn’t true for new seasons of popular shows like The Last of Us and The White Lotus, which are still inching toward production. In a bit of good news, a source tells EW that all of the House of the Dragon season 2 scripts have been completed, so that series will remain in production without interruption.
If you’re in the middle of a beloved show right now, odds are, you’re okay. Shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Ted Lasso, for example, wrapped filming a while back.
However, certain streaming shows will inevitably be affected. Cobra Kai co-creator Jon Hurwitz tweeted that the show has shut down its season 6 room less than a month after returning to work.
Okay, but reality won’t be affected right?
The Bachelor recap. Credit: ABC
Gabi and Zach on ‘The Bachelor’
| Credit: ABC
Reality shows, entertainment news, sports, and interview-based talk shows are not subject to the WGA agreement and will be unaffected by the strike. So mess will remain.
When will it be over?
As of publication, no one knows. But the longest WGA strike in history was in 1988, lasting a record 153 days. In 2007-08, the strike lasted 100 days, or about 14 weeks, helping reality TV snare its tendrils even deeper into the industry.
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