NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Writers Strike of 2023 is real. While that may go over some heads, I bet missing out on some of our favorite TV shows will not. With writers hitting the line, that has put plenty of productions on hold. With summer around the corner, this has been a time when most fall shows begin their creative process and even began shooting for the fall release. However, since the strike, everything is on hold.
Without writers, there are no shows, and as much as we’re waiting to see what happens with some of our favorite shows and characters, we may have to wait just a bit longer. According to Bob Karish, “this might take a while.” The last writers strike to hit Hollywood was in 2007 and that lasted until 2008. At that time, shows were halted, and while some made it back on the air, others were not as fortunate.
Luckily, shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Abbott Elementary, Raising Kanan, and Stranger Things have too huge of a following to be dismissed. But setting the show back a month or more could throw things out of whack for the franchise. On the flip side of the coin, it’s only right that writers and producers are paid what they are worth. These are the people who keep us glued to the TV week in and week out. They’re the reason we pay monthly subscription fees to streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and others. We need them. Hollywood needs them, and actors and actresses need them.
The Writers Guild of America, which represents 11,500 screenwriters, went on strike after contract negotiations with studios, streaming services, and networks failed. By the end of the week, companies punched back at union in the news media, and striking writers celebrated the disruption of shows filming from finished scripts.
The Writers Strike Will Affect Some Major Shows
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (HBO Max)
Evil (Paramount+)
Hacks (HBO Maz)
P-Valley (Starz)
Andor (Disney+)
Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Severance (Apple+)
Power Book 2: Ghost (Starz)
FBI: Most Wanted (CBS)
Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+)
Loot (Apple+)
The Last Of Us (HBO)
Billions (Showtime)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Late Night Talk Shows
Like writers, directors want more money, especially regarding residual payments (a type of royalty) from streaming services, which have rapidly expanded overseas. Before streaming, writers and directors (and other creative contributors, including actors) could receive residual payments whenever a show was licensed, whether that was for syndication, an international deal, or DVD sales. In the streaming era, as global services like Netflix and Amazon have been reluctant to license their series, those distribution arms have been cut off.
How long will this Writers Strike last? No one knows, but the writers must hold their ground until they get what they deserve. with most of the big-name shows taking a brief hiatus until this is resolved, TV-goers will need to find new shows to pass the time.
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