As of May 2, the WGA Writers Strike has officially gone on strike, owing to disputes related to royalties, minimum staffing level for TV writers rooms, concerns about artificial intelligence and many other issues.
This will be the WGA’s first strike in 16 years, and many of the requests the guild has made owe to changes in the television industry due to the advent of streaming, which has left many writers without the residual income that once came from reruns, DVD box sets and so forth.
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We’ve been following the WGA strike story and will continue to do so. But at the moment, here is what will immediately be impacted by the strike.
Late Night Television
Someone has to write the monologue jokes and scripted comedy events that the Jimmies and Seth Meyers say everything, and the comedic deep dives that John Oliver and “The Daily Show” specialize in don’t write themselves.
While there’s plenty of scripted television that has already been shot that will be on its way, talk shows have a much quicker turnaround, and Seth Meyers, during a speech in which he showed his support for the WGA, indicated that NBC’s (CMCSA) “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” will immediately go silent if the strike goes through.
Similarly, ABC’s (DIS) “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” CBS's (PARA) “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” HBO’s (WBD) “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “This Week Tonight with John Oliver” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” will all immediately cease production.
“Saturday Night Live”
“Saturday Night Live” went off the air during the 2007-08 strike. While SNL alum was set to host this weekend’s episode, the NBC staple will not be producing any new episodes for the foreseeable future.
Should the strike continue for weeks or months, it is entirely possible that the show’s 48th season will have already concluded.
“Abbot Elementary”
Created by Quinta Brunson, the ABC sitcom has nearly single handedly revived the network sitcom, becoming one of the most universally beloved comedies in years. The show’s writers were set to begin mapping out the third season on May 2, but that is now on hold.
“Yellowjackets”
The buzzy (and bloody) Showtime hit is in the midst of its second season, and co-creator Ashley Lyle took to Twitter to note that after one day in the writer’s room plotting out the third season, pencils are now down.
