With no end to the Writers Guild of America strike in sight, TVLine is keeping tabs on the shows that have paused, and in some cases shut down, production amid the work stoppage.
At press time Stranger Things was the latest major series to announce that it was postponing the start of production (on its fifth and final season), with the Duffer Brothers explaining, “Writing does not stop when filming begins.” As such, “it is not possible” to start the cameras rolling during this strike, they said, adding: “We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work.”
According to WGA guidelines, once a work stoppage is underway, not only are guild members barred from writing, but anything that was already written before the strike cannot be edited during production. (As TV vet Mike Royce detailed on Twitter, “If a show continues production on a script that was written before the strike, there may not be ANY ALTERATIONS to that script made by ANYONE while the WGA is on strike. Not a word, not a comma.”)
Late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live took hits almost immediately, going dark effective May 2. What other broadcast, cable and streaming productions have hit pause, either out of solidarity or practicality? Scroll down to find out.
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Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC LAST AIRED: Season 2 finale aired April 19.
STATUS: “They were supposed to be going back into the writers’ room [on May 3] to start on the third season,” cast member Sheryl Lee Ralph told TODAY.com. But with the strike now underway, “They won’t be.”
Abbott writer Brittani Nichols similarly told Democracy Now, “We are a show that writes while we air, so 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. It could change the air date. It could change a lot of different things.”
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American Horror Story (FX)
Image Credit: Cara Delevingne on ‘AHS’ set (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) LAST AIRED: The Season 11 finale aired Nov. 16, 2022.
STATUS: Though there were reports that Teamsters refused to cross the WGA picket line at Silver Cup Studios in Queens, N.Y., our sister site Deadline reported on May 4 that American Horror Story has managed to continue production on Season 12 aka AHS: Delicate.
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Big Mouth (Netflix)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix LAST STREAMED: Season 6 streamed Oct. 28, 2022
STATUS: The series had already been renewed for its eighth and final season ahead of its Season 7 release. According to our sister site Variety, the animated series was six weeks into writing Season 8 when the strike began and dictated, “Pencils down.” Otherwise, all writing for Season 8 would wrapped in August.
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Cobra Kai (Netflix)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix LAST STREAMED: Season 5 streamed Sept. 9, 2022
STATUS: The series shut down its Season 6 writers’ room on May 2. As showrunner Jon Hurwitz tweeted, “We hate to strike, but if we must, we strike hard. Pencils down in the Cobra Kai writers room. No writers on set. These aren’t fun times, but it’s unfortunately necessary. The moment a fair deal is in place, we’ll get back to kicking ass.”
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Evil (Paramount+)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+ LAST STREAMED: Season 3 finale streamed Aug. 14, 2022.
STATUS: Our sister site Variety reported that production on Season 4 wrapped early not because of the strike action or any picket line disruptions, but due to an unnamed cast member’s leave of absence to tend to a family matter. It is unknown at this time if the early stop will affect the 10-episode plan for Season 4.
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Hacks (HBO Max)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max LAST STREAMED: Season 2 finale streamed June 2, 2022.
STATUS: Filming for Season 3 was halted on May 5, according to Deadline. Creator and showrunner Jen Statsky added her own statement via Twitter, saying, “We are devastated to not be with our incredible crew and cast right now, but there was no other option here. Writing happens at every stage of the process — production and post included. It’s what makes shows and movies good. It’s what makes them possible.”
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Night (HBO)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO STATUS: The Game of Thrones prequel based on George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas shuttered its writers’ room on May 7 “for the duration” of the strike, the author announced on his blog. “No one wanted this — no writer with an ounce of sense, anyway — but the producers and the studios and the networks and the streamers gave us no choice,” GRRM said.
Martin went on to note that among his other projects, House of the Dragon Season 2 started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales. “The scripts for the eight s2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began,” he made clear. “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.”
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Loot (Apple TV+)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+ LAST STREAMED: Season 1 finale streamed Aug. 12, 2022.
STATUS: Production on Season 2 has at least paused, after picketers disrupted the site of the show’s Bel-Air mega-mansion location. According to THR.com, it’s unclear when — or if — production on Season 2 will resume.
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Night Court (NBC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC LAST AIRED: Season 1 finale airs May 9.
STATUS: The revival, having been renewed a while ago, rolled right into production on Season 2 shortly after wrapping Season 1. But since having writers on-set is critical to a multi-cam comedy, Deadline reported that the series is expected to go dark.
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Power Book III: Raising Kanan (Starz)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Starz LAST AIRED: Season 2 finale aired Oct. 23 2022.
STATUS: Deadline reported that the writers’ room has shut down, stalling Season 3 production. (The series was renewed for Season 3 ahead of its Season 2 premiere.)
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Stranger Things (Netflix)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix LAST STREAMED: Season 4B streamed July 1, 2022.
STATUS: The start of production has been delayed for the fifth and final season. As co-creators and co-showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer, aka the Duffer Brothers, explained 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. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out.”
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Unstable (Netflix)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix LAST STREAMED: Season 1 streamed March 30, 2023.
STATUS: Though Season 2 has not yet been officially ordered, Deadline says that production on a second season was underway, though it has since shut down.
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Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Showtime LAST AIRED: Season 2 is currently airing, through May 14.
STATUS: The writers’ room closed after one day of Season 3 production, series co-creator Ashley Lyle confirmed in a tweet. “Well, we had exactly one day in the #YellowJackets S3 writers’ room,” Lyle shared. “It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I’m very excited to get back to it as soon as the #WGA gets a fair deal.”
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This story originally appeared on TVLine
