Late-night shows have been the first to be affected by the writers' strike. The shows hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers canceled their live broadcasts on Tuesday, the day the strike began, and instead began airing reruns of past episodes.
The same thing happened in the 2016 strike and in the previous ones. This is because late-night shows have a large staff of scriptwriters who, day by day, write the monologues and jokes that the hosts read live and, therefore, are always the first to be affected.
However, despite the strike putting their shows at risk, the hosts are broadly supportive of the union, as they made known to their audiences last Monday. The first of them, Stephen Colbert, stated on his show last Monday that the nation owed a lot to the screenwriters' union and that the guild deserved much more than it currently receives:
Everyone including myself hopes both sides reach a deal. But I also think that the writers’ demands are not unreasonable. This nation owes so much to unions. Unions are the reason we have weekends, and by extension why we have TGI Fridays.
Another host who defends the strike is Seth Meyers. He, who also belongs to the Screenwriters Guild (WGA), said on his Tuesday afternoon show that he supported the guild and saw their demands as fair:
Seth Meyers on a potential WGA strike:
"I feel very strongly that what the writers are asking for is not unreasonable, and as a proud member of the Guild, I'm very grateful that there's an organization that looks out for the best interests of writers."pic.twitter.com/VZIuRjWxh6
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 2, 2023
Networks against the screenwriters' guild
The host proved that he truly supports the guild. He did so by announcing that he would pay the scriptwriters working on his show out of his pocket. He made the decision when, in a meeting with NBC, he learned that the television network would stop paying both salary and health insurance for the writers if they continued the strike. Sarah Kobos, senior photo research coordinator for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, revealed the news in a tweet:
At a meeting Jimmy wasn't even at, we are told NBC decided to stop paying us after this week and end our health insurance after this month if the strike is ongoing. They won't even tell us if we will technically be furloughed. Just active employees who aren't paid.
— Sarah Kobos (@skobos) May 2, 2023
She does not belong to the guild but, as she clarified in her Twitter profile, she supports her colleagues and made the information she learned from the television network known to the public. For that reason, the Jimmy Fallon staffer, in that Twitter thread, revealed that Fallon had not made a statement on whether or not he would pay his writers' salaries. She claimed that Seth Meyers, who, according to sources was at that meeting, stated that he would pay his workers' salaries out of his own pocket:
I’m told Seth Meyers was in their zoom production meeting and that he is going to try and take care of his staff and crew after NBC stops paying.
— Sarah Kobos (@skobos) May 2, 2023
Series begin to feel the effects of the strike
Series and movies are also beginning to feel the effects of the strike. It is true that, by working ahead of time, many productions have not yet been affected but, newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal warn that, if the strike continues, the fall season could experience many delays and many series and movies could be canceled.
This second scenario, which involves cancellations, has not yet occurred, but there are several series that have had to stop production. The sixth and final season of Cobra Kai was the first to announce that, due to the strike, the writing of new scripts had been stopped. Jon Hurwitz, co-creator of the series, made the announcement:
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. In the meantime, sending strength and… https://t.co/99UulF7HeW
— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) May 2, 2023
Five-time Emmy winner Abbott Elementary is another series that has had to halt production. According to writer Brittani Nichols, the strike could delay the premiere of the third season of the popular series, which could also return with fewer episodes than planned:
Hollywood screenwriters of @WGAWest are going on strike. They are fighting for a living wage in the streaming era, says Abbott Elementary writer @BisHilarious, who calls the industry a "gig economy," where studios prioritize Wall Street, not workers. pic.twitter.com/GDxWvfi5ZJ
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) May 2, 2023
Other series such as Yellowjackets, Big Mouth and Good Omens also stated that the strike has affected them. Fans of House of the Dragon are breathing easy since Variety revealed that the scripts for the second season have already been submitted and approved.
