The WGA Writers Strike has officially begun and the picket lines have formed across Hollywood and New York City. This halt means that many scripted projects will inevitably go dark, resulting in a Hollywood shutdown not seen since COVID, and not felt since the last WGA strike took place 15 years ago. Variety will keep readers updated with a rolling list of everything that has been put on hold as a result of the strike, which went into effect Tuesday. For more information about the strike, check out Variety’s FAQ primer on what it means for the industry.
UPDATE: “Rings of Power” and “MTV Movie Awards” updates added.
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LATE-NIGHT SHOWS GO DARK. ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” CBS’ “The Late Show,” and NBC’s “Tonight” and “Late Night” are all going on hiatus and repeats will be shown. HBO will also cease live production of “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” (which was currently being hosted by a rotating cast of comedians) is also on hiatus.
AMC SHOWS
Scripts for AMC’s Anne Rice series and their “Walking Dead” spinoff shows are done, but no production has started.
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
The writers room for the third season of Emmy-darling “Abbott Elementary” was supposed to convene on May 2nd. That room has closed. In an interview with “Democracy Now,” writer Brittani Nichols revealed that this strike could ultimately impact the number of episodes they can pen for the upcoming season. “We are a show that writes while we air,” Nichols said. “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 I’m sure people will be very upset about.”
BIG MOUTH
The Netflix animated series was six weeks into writing the 8th and final season of the show. The creators would have finished writing in August without a strike.
COBRA KAI
“Cobra Kai” closed its writers room for season 6. Series co-creator Jon Hurwitz tweeted “pencils down” in solidarity. The writers room is closed and no writers are currently on set for season 6 production.
GOOD OMENS
Neil Gaiman has also posted his support for the writers strike. The creator tweeted earlier that the long-awaited season 2 of “Good Omens,” starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen, would appear sometime this summer. However, if you’re hopeful for a stirring Gaiman press tour, you might need divine intervention for the writer is on strike.
GUTFELD!
Unlike the aforementioned late night shows, Fox News Channel revealed it will continue to broadcast new shows of Greg Gutfeld’s talk show program.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
All of the scripts for the second season of “Game of Thrones” spinoff “House of the Dragon” have been turned in. Read the full story here.
MTV MOVIE AWARDS
Host Drew Barrymore has exited her role as host for the MTV Movie Awards. The red carpet for this star-studded event was also rolled up in the wake of the strike.
RAP SH!T
Production on the second season of the Issa Rae series wrapped in April.
RINGS OF POWER
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” will move forward with production on the second season amid the ongoing WGA strike, but the Amazon Prime Video show will not be using the services of executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (who are supporting the guild on strike).
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
The live sketch show has gone dark in support of the writers strike. Former cast member Pete Davidson was supposed to host on May 6 along with musical guest Lil Uzi Vert.
THE TALK
The daily talk show “The Talk” will not be filming. However, previously recorded new episodes scheduled to air will remain on the schedule. Episode listings previously released remain accurate for this week.
YELLOWJACKETS
Co-creator of the series “Yellowjackets” Ashley Lyle tweeted that all progress on writing for season 3 of the Showtime drama has halted after exactly one day of progress. “It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I’m really excited to get back to it as soon as the WGA gets a fair deal,” she tweeted.
VIP+ Data: The Media Companies Most Impacted in a Strike
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