Welcome to another writers’ strike. Now what?

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this


This is Nurf.

@nurfthefrench

Just having a rant this morning 🙂 #french #frenchbulldog #fyp #foryou #foryoupage

♬ Maria Maria (feat. The Product G&B) (sped up) – Santana & sped up + slowed

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

It’s official folks: we’re in a writers’ strike. The WGA voted to go on strike effective at midnight this morning after being unable to agree with “Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Paramount+, and Sony under the umbrella of the AMPTP” after six weeks of negotiation.

There’s a lot going on here, but a lot of the writers’ demands stem from the changes brought on by streaming, including there being so many more series but with shorter seasons, smaller writers’ rooms, and as a result, lower wages in a town (towns) that is prohibitively expensive to live in. Also, the WGA asked the producers to agree to not use AI to write material, rewrite material, source material, or use their material to train AI, and the producers refused, which is pretty fucking scary.

Here are the WGA’s proposals in full, if you’re interested:

Writing in Hollywood has become a gig job, not a career.

And remember, while any production that you have loved has been the work of talented actors, directors, editors, cinematographers, and many many others, it all began with the writers. Writing is at the heart of any movie or TV show that has ever moved you, and they deserve as much as anyone else in this business to be able to support themselves while doing their jobs.

Now that the strike has begun, late night will be the first to go dark. Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show are all on hiatus as of tonight. Additionally, Last Week Tonight, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Saturday Night Live will not be filmed this week.

The only late-night comedy show that will continue is Gutfeld! on Fox News and the only surprising thing about that news is that there are writers.

The next shows that will be affected will be the soap operas, which tend to be written not too far out from when they are filmed. There is usually anywhere between six weeks to three-four months between writing and filming, so there could be some disruption there sometime this summer.

Abbott Elementary‘s writers’ room was supposed to meet today for the first time to begin work on season three, but the room is now closed. Other writers’ rooms that have closed are Big Mouth, Cobra Kai, and Yellowjackets.

But fret not, nerds: House of the Dragon‘s season two is fully written, and will continue production. But, again, don’t expect it until well into 2024.

Dancing With the Stars is returning to ABC after one season on Disney+. It will also stream live on Disney+, but with this writers’ strike happening, ABC is going to need all the unscripted content they can get for the fall.

Antony Starr on what’s to come on The Boys season four: “I was looking at the person I was opposite, and I said, ‘What are we doing? I can’t believe this! I could have done anything else with my life, but here I am doing this?’ It was truly the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done.”

Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are performing at King Charles’ coronation for some reason, so Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morrisette will fill in for them on American Idol next week.

The Severance co-showrunners reportedly hate each other, creating delays for season two, dammit.

CNN is giving Former President Rapist a town hall for some fucking reason. ~shakes fist at Chris Licht~

#MeToo

Jeff Shell, the CEO of NBCUniversal, was fired for having an extramarital affair with CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble, who has sued for sexual harassment.

The Jonathan Majors story is getting worse for the actor. Reportedly, “multiple alleged abuse victims of Majors have come forward following his March arrest and are cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney’s office.” In the wake of this news, his management and PR firms dropped him, and now he’s being removed from projects, including The Man in My Basement, an Otis Redding project, and an ad campaign for the Texas Rangers MLB team. Marvel is keeping ties with him … for the time being, though the woman at the center of the controversy reportedly also worked on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Speaking of the victim, a judge has granted her a full temporary order of protection. His lawyer insists Majors is innocent and hasn’t assaulted anyone.

In response to criticism of Beef cast member David Choe for comments he made on a podcast in 2014 about allegedly assaulting a massage therapist, creator Lee Sung Jin and executive producers and stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong released a statement. It read, “The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing. We do not condone this story in any way, and we understand why this has been so upsetting and triggering. We’re aware David has apologized in the past for making up this horrific story, and we’ve seen him put in the work to get the mental health support he needed over the last decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes.” I mean, OK.

Danny Masterson is back on trial for rape. His team tried to get Leah Remini thrown out of the courtroom, but it didn’t work. And his ex-girlfriend gave disturbing testimony about an alleged assault last week.

F. Murray Abraham has “apologized” for “telling jokes” on Mythic Quest. I mean, sure.

Actor Matthew Lawrence claims he was sent to the hotel room of an “Oscar-winning director” who greeted him in a robe, and told him to take his clothes off. The director went on to proposition him in exchange for a Marvel role. When Lawrence refused and left, he claims his agency fired him.

Monica Aldama of Navarro College and Cheer fame, has been sued by cheerleader Madi Lane. Lane claims she was sexually assaulted by team member Salvatore “Salvo” Amico, and Aldama told her to keep it quiet.

MediaMatters got their hands on video of Tucker Carlson being gross on set.

Molly Ringwald wonders if Hollywood has actually undergone any real systemic change in the wake of #MeToo, while also wringing her hands about people being unfairly “canceled.”

Kevin Smith opened up about being sexually abused as a child and how it left him traumatized.

Joshua Jackson talks about filming the sex scenes in Fatal Attraction from the “female gaze:” “God bless [director] Silver Tree for being amazing and coming at this from the female gaze. There are so many ways to tell the story of a sex scene that don’t need to be about certain pieces of a woman’s body. There are so many different ways that this can give you all of that stuff without it having to be exploitive of the women’s body.” 

Here is a very long piece about Tiffany Haddish and how problematic she is.

Dammit, L.A. Times … do better.

In Development

  • Mock The Week, a comedic look at the news that has been airing for 20 years on BBC is coming to Freevee and is executive produced by Trevor Noah.
  • The Corps, a dramedy starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga, has been greenlit at Netflix.
  • What Are The Odds?, a Las Vegas sports book workplace comedy co-produced by Peyton Manning, is in development at NBC.
  • The GOAT, a reality competition to find the “greatest reality star of all time,” has been greenlit at Freevee. Check out the cast at the link.
  • Sex in the Dark, a “raunchy social experiment,” has in development at Peacock.
  • Night’s Edge, a vampire novel, is being adapted for TV at Freeform.
  • Redemption Ink, a tattoo reality series produced by 50 Cent, is in development at Hulu.
  • Justice on Trial, from Judge Judy Sheindlin, has been greenlit at Freevee.
  • The Blue Angels has been acquired by Prime Video.
  • Celebrity Family Cook Off has been ordered at Roku. It will be hosted by Manolo Gonzalez Vergara.
  • A drama series based on the life of Shakespeare is in the works in the U.K.

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • Prehistoric Planet returns on Apple TV+ on May 22.
  • Air will debut on Prime Video on May 12.

R.I.P.

Gordon Lightfoot, Legendary singer-songwriter

WATCH THIS

The Rookie: The team becomes the target of a group of masked assailants in the season finale. 7 p.m., ABC

The Rookie: Feds: An agent is drugged and buried alive. Season finale. 8 p.m., ABC

Will Trent: The answers to Will’s questions might have been right in front of him all along. Season finale. 9 p.m., ABC

Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed: In this new docuseries, a former member of the boy band Menudo reveals new allegations against Jose Menendez that might corroborate the Menendez brother’s accusations against their father. Series premiere. Peacock

Love Village: Not only hot 20-somethings deserve to find love on reality shows. Now it’s the 35 and older crowd. Series premiere. Netflix

King Charles: The Boy Who Walked Alone: Ahead of his coronation, close friends, confidantes, and ex-lovers share stories about the now-King of England. Premiere. Paramount+

1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed: “W. Kamau Bell explores the experiences of mixed kids and families in the San Francisco Bay Area.” Premiere. 8 p.m., HBO

Late Night — is on hiatus.

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Emma Chamberlain, Arlo Parks
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamatti, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Tanner Wayne
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Priyanka Chopra Jonas; Chita Rivera
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Dr. Phil McGraw; Gina Rodriguez; Pixies
  • The Daily Show: Guest host Dulcé Sloan

TUES. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Rookie
(new)		 The Rookie: Feds
(new)		 Will Trent
(new)
CBS FBI
(repeat)		 FBI: International
(repeat)		 FBI: Most Wanted
(repeat)
CW Superman & Lois
(new)		 Gotham Knights
(new)		 Local
FOX 9-1-1: Lone Star
(new)		 Accused
(new)		 News/Local
NBC Night Court
(new)		 Lopez vs. Lopez
(new)		 The Wall
(new)		 Weakest Link
(new)

One thought on “Welcome to another writers’ strike. Now what?”

  1. I have read some articles written with AI, and they are terrible. Jibberish, if you really try to follow the train of thought. Television is about to get way worse than ever, if that is the way the boss people go.

    Reply

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