How long will the Writers Guild of America strike last? According to insiders, it could be a long, long time. Already dozens of high-profile shows and movies have gone dark, including Stranger Things and Marvel’s long-in-the-works reboot of Blade. But so far that hasn’t convinced the Hollywood studios and streamers that comprise the Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers of kowtowing to the WGA’s demands. Now another big show is going on hiatus, though the strike may only be one of the reasons why.
As per Deadline, Severance — Apple TV+’s sci-fi whatzit, whose first season captivated viewers last year — is temporarily throwing in the towel due to the strike. On its eighth day, WGA members had been picketing their studio in central Brooklyn, and did so so well that that members of IATSE and the Teamsters up and refused to cross picket lines.
But other factors may have contributed to its shuttering. The AV Club points to a Puck report from last month that all was not going so well with the show’s second season. That report claimed that the show had been “plagued for months by pricey problems, including scrapped scripts and the dreaded showrunners who don’t speak to each other.” Sources close to the production denied those rumors — to The AV Club, as it were — saying that show-runners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman were collaborating just fine.
After the report surfaced, Ben Stiller, who helmed seven of the first season’s nine episodes, took to Twitter to deny any mishegoss. “No one’s going to the break room,” he wrote. “We’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on. Same target air date we’ve always had. Love our fans and each other and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible.”
No one’s going to the break room. We’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on. Same target air date we’ve always had. Love our fans and each other and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible.
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 28, 2023
Whatever the case, it may be a good while until Hollywood brass lets them return to the inhumane world of Lumon Industries. On the other hand, that could also mean striking writers could get more pizza from Pete Davidson.
(Via Deadline, The AV Club, and Puck)