Hollywood writers’ strike halts ‘Stranger Things’, ‘Severance’, ‘Blade’

Last week, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) members abandoned their writing tools and went to the protest lines stating their pay doesn’t reflect the profits earned in this streaming era. 

For the first time since 2008, over 11,000 writers in the film and television industry have initiated a strike. They are not only advocating for increased compensation and residuals, but new regulations that would necessitate studios to employ a specific number of writers for a certain time period when staffing television shows. Additionally, WGA is also seeking payment throughout the entirety of the preproduction, production, and postproduction process. Presently, writers are often expected to make revisions or generate fresh material without receiving payment.

It’s been a week since they’re off their scripts, and the impact on Hollywood’s movie and television productions is now visible. As a result, popular daily late-night programs as well as the weekly comedy institution ‘Saturday Night Live’ have gone off the air. 

Moreover, the strike has also suspended the scripting process of the popular HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel, ‘The House of Dragon’ and the last season of the popular Netflix’s original, ‘Stranger Things’. Additionally, the strike has also led to premature conclusion or suspended production of various popular movies and TV series, such as Disney and Marvel’s ‘Blade’, AppleTV+’s ‘Severance’ and Paramount’s ‘Evil’.

Aside from the postponed production and probable release delays for these productions, professionals in the industry are said to be more concerned that this work stoppage could result in a more significant financial impact than the prior writers’ strike.

During the previous strike in 2008, writers who participated in the picket lines were on strike for 100 days, resulting in an estimated cost of $2 billion for the industry. Additionally, it’s also believed that the strike had significant economic effects on associated industries like hotels, restaurants, and construction firms that frequently collaborate with film and television productions.