The Writers Guild of America officially announced a strike early Tuesday amid an ongoing contract dispute. While it may take some time to see the impact trickle down to many scripted series, late night network talk shows will halt production effective immediately.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show are among the late night shows that will go dark on Tuesday, according to Deadline. Meanwhile, Variety reports that HBO telecasts Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Real Time with Bill Maher are also set to cease production. There's been no announcement yet about the fate of Saturday Night Live, but it's expected to follow suit.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Chita Rivera were previously lined up for Colbert's Tuesday show, while Ken Jeong and Emma Chamberlain were to appear on Fallon. Kimmel was set to host Dr. Phil, Gina Rodriguez, and The Pixies. Meanwhile, Pete Davidson was set to make his return to 30 Rock on Saturday night to promote his new Peacock series Bupkis, which premieres on Thursday.
The Writers Guild of America strike has been bubbling for months now, with thousands of unionized writers saying they are no longer being paid fairly in the streaming era. The Writers Guild of America board of directors said that writers were facing an "existential crisis" ahead of the walkout.
“The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union work force, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” the union said in a statement.
This marks the first Writers Guild of America walk out since the 2007–2008 strike. At the time, many nightly and weekly shows pivoted to reruns, an outcome we can probably expect once again until the dispute is resolved.
Note: the editor of this story is a member of the Writers Guild of America, East.
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