American screenwriters have been on strike since May 2nd. The representatives of the major studios and streaming services have not responded to the demands of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The authors’ union fights for better pay and better framework conditions for the work of its members.
Late-night shows in particular have been hit by the authors’ guild in the United States. The formats of Jimmy Kimmel (55), Jimmy Fallon (48) and Co. are currently being repeated at most. The moderators show solidarity with the strikers or are partly members of the WGA themselves.
But the production of these popular series also has to be paused because of the strike.
Filming on the fifth and final season of Netflix’s hit “Stranger Things” was set to begin this May. But nothing will come of it for now. The scripts are already done, but “the writing doesn’t stop when filming begins.” The series makers Matt and Ross Duffer (39) explain this in a solidarity tweet. “While we look forward to starting production with our amazing cast and crew, this is not possible during this strike,” it said. “We hope that a fair agreement will be reached soon so that we can all get back to work.”
With “Cobra Kai” another Netflix hit is affected. The sixth season of the “Karate Kid” offshoot is coming, but the authors are putting the pens aside, as showrunner Jon Hurwitz (45) wrote on Twitter. The Writer’s Room is closed. “These are not good times, but unfortunately they are necessary,” said Hurwitz. “As soon as a fair deal is struck, we’ll kick ass again.”
The writing team of the acclaimed thriller drama “Yellowjackets” was working on Season 3 – but after just one day they stopped working again. When the third round can be expected remains open. In Germany, the production of the US pay TV channel Showtime runs on the Paramount streaming service.
The mockumentary sitcom “Abbot Elementary” won, among other things, a Golden Globe for best comedy series. It is relatively unknown in Germany, although it is available on Disney. On May 2nd of all days, the first day of the strike, the Writers’ Room was supposed to start work on Season 3. But now it’s time for a break.
According to author Brittani Nichols (34), the strike could affect the length of Season 3. “If this strike lasts for a long period of time, our show will not be on time and that could change the number of episodes, which I’m sure people will be very upset about,” said the 34-year-old.
A special case is the “Lord of the Rings” series “The Rings of Power”. Amazon is filming the second season despite the strike. However, the shooting, which is scheduled to last until the end of May, has to take place without the two showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay get along. As members of the WGA, they may not and/or do not want to be on set.
