American actors have started “indefinite” strike action, joining film and television writers on the picket lines.
About 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have walked out, while 15,000 screenwriters who are members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike since 2 May.
Fran Drescher, president of the US actors’ union has said its walkout will impact “thousands if not millions of people”.
It is unclear how long this strike will last. The longest WGA strike lasted 153 days, while in 1980 actors went on strike for more than three months.
Succession star Brian Cox told Sky News the strike could get “very unpleasant” and may not be resolved until the end of the year.
With unionised screenwriters and actors on picket lines rather than in studios, here are all the shows that could be affected.
The shows that have already fallen
Late night shows were the first to go dark, as they tend to be written on the day.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and Real Time With Bill Maher all went off air as soon as the strike started.
The strike has taken the “live” out of Saturday Night Live – NBC will air repeats until further notice, the network announced.
Streaming platform favourites
Production on season five of Stranger Things has paused, the show’s creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer announced on Twitter.
“Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike,” they wrote.
Production has paused on the latest season of Stranger Things
Filming of season three of HBO show Hacks has halted, with creator Jen Statsky saying there was “no other option”.
“Writing happens at every stage of the process – production and post included. It’s what makes shows and movies good,” she wrote on Twitter.
Writing on season three of Yellowjackets was put on hold one day in, co-creator Ashley Lyle said. They will resume when WGA gets a “fair deal”, she said.
Writers on season six of Cobra Kai are also on strike, with co-creator and writer Jon Hurwitz tweeting: “Pencils down in the Cobra Kai writers’ room. No writers on set.”
Season two of The Last Of Us is on hold according to Variety, with the absence of writers affecting preparations for casting.
Writing on season six of The Handmaid’s Tale has halted ahead of filming that was supposed to start in late summer.
Severance paused production on season two due to picketing.
Writing on season three of Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary was supposed to start the day after the strike started but has been paused.
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How will viewers be affected?
How much of an impact these halts on production will have will depend on how long the strikes last.
While fans of late-night talk shows will already be missing their fix, it will take longer for the effects of the strike to be felt by viewers of narrative series and films.
Studios knew the end of the WGA contract was coming and so will have stockpiled episodes.
But if the strike drags on and production scheduling is delayed, viewers could see series premieres delayed and more re-runs.
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What is going ahead
Some shows are pushing ahead with production without writers on set.
House Of The Dragon is shooting in the UK, with creator George RR Martin writing in a blog post that while he supports the strikes, the scripts for season two were finished “months ago”.
“Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc. There will be no further revisions,” he wrote.
However, the writers’ room for another Game of Thrones prequel series, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, has “closed for the duration”, he said.
Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power will finish filming season two without showrunners on set.
Filming on the Disney+ Star Wars prequel Andor is going ahead, but creator Tony Gilroy has stepped away from all on-set duties amid the strike.
Films
Marvel halted pre-production of its highly anticipated vampire thriller, Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, and then hit pause on the production of Thunderbolts.
While it’s common for writers on blockbusters to rework scripts on the fly, Marvel “has a more acute reputation for script pages flying off the typewriters during filming”, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Deadpool 3 shut down production due to the actors’ strike, just days after giving fans a first glimpse at the set and Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in costume.
Other blockbusters that could see production delayed include Ghostbusters 4, Mufasa: The Lion King, Avatar 3 and 4, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice sequel and a film adaptation of the musical Wicked.
Gladiator 2, Juror #2, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two and an untitled F1 drama have also had production paused.
Promotional events for films that are yet to be released will also be cancelled. Stars of Oppenheimer walked out of the London premiere as the strike was announced to “write their picket signs”.
What about British cinema?
The chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, Phil Clapp, said the strike may cause “little, if any, disruption” to British theatres for the “foreseeable future”, but premieres may not see the glamour of stars on the red carpet.
“While it will clearly be for each individual to make their own decision, it may be that until the dispute is resolved we will see some premieres not being supported by the ‘talent’ in front of or behind the camera,” he said.
“In terms of wider UK cinema-going, given the challenges UK cinema operators have faced in the last few years, all will be concerned by anything which might potentially threaten the supply of films to the big screen, and so it is very much hoped that there will be a quick resolution.
