TV Talk: Hollywood writers strike; Comcast briefly drops NFL Network

As expected, the Writers Guild of America, which represents writers of scripted film and TV programs, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streamers in collective bargaining, failed to come to terms on a new contract Monday night. The WGA called a strike that is now in effect. The writers will begin picketing Hollywood studios Tuesday afternoon. It’s the first writers strike since a 2007-08 strike that lasted three months.

The most immediate impact on viewers will be that all late-night shows — “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “Late Night with Seth Meyer” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” — have ceased production.

Prime-time broadcast series wrapped filming for the 2022-23 season in late March or early April but depending on how long the strike lasts, the strike could impact production of new episodes for the 2023-24 broadcast season that typically premiere in September. Fall series generally begin filming in late July or early August.

What’s left of daytime soap operas may also be impacted depending on how far in advance the shows have filmed. Representatives for CBS’s soaps and ABC’s “General Hospital” did not respond to a request for comment on how far in advance their shows have taped. Former NBC soap “Days of Our Lives,” now streaming on Peacock, is about six months ahead, so it shouldn’t be immediately impacted by the strike.

Locally, all filming on projects under the aegis of AMPTP-member studios — season two of “American Rust” and “The Deliverance” reshoots — wrapped in April. Pittsburgh Film Office director Dawn Keezer confirmed nothing under the AMPTP agreement is currently filming in Pittsburgh and prospective productions that could come to town were waiting to see if a strike might happen. Now that it has, cameras are unlikely to roll again until the labor dispute is resolved unless studios opt to move forward with locked scripts.

WGA rules stipulate that during a strike guild members cannot write, revise pitch or negotiate with companies that are part of the AMPTP.

Other guilds — including the Directors Guild of America and the actors’ SAG-AFTRA — have told their members to follow their contracts and report to work on productions that are still filming, but during the last writers strike production on most scripted series halted anyway.

Negotiations to avert a strike began in March with writers seeking to undo damage done by the streaming era that’s prompted smaller episode orders — sometimes six episodes instead of 22 per season — that greatly reduce writers’ pay.

At the same time, streaming has cost studios billions but most streaming services are not profitable.

“The AMPTP presented a comprehensive package proposal to the Guild last night which included generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals,” the AMPTP said in a statement Monday night. “The AMPTP also indicated to the WGA that it is prepared to improve that offer, but was unwilling to do so because of the magnitude of other proposals still on the table that the Guild continues to insist upon. The primary sticking points are ‘mandatory staffing,’ and ‘duration of employment’ — Guild proposals that would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not.”

The AMPTP said it was “willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam” but in its reply the WGA said “the studios’ responses have been wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing.”

“The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” the WGA said. “From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a ‘day rate’ in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.”

The potential for more strikes looms: DGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts with the AMPTP expire at the end of June.

Comcast briefly drops NFL Network

Comcast’s Xfinity dropped NFL Network and NFL Red Zone on May 1 in a carriage dispute but then resolved the issue Tuesday morning.

“We’ve reached a new agreement with NFL Network and NFL RedZone and are pleased to provide their content to our customers,” Comcast said in a statement.

Kept/canceled

Amazon Freevee renewed “Bosch” for a third season ahead of its second season this fall and also renewed “Judy Justice” for two additional seasons.

Netflix renewed “The Diplomat” for a second season.

Apple TV+ renewed “The Morning Show” for a fourth season ahead of its return for season three this fall.

Vice, which may file for bankruptcy, canceled “Vice News Tonight” with its last episode to air May 25.