CBS’ Fall Schedule Unveil Party Postponed Due To Writers Strike

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The major broadcast networks are trying very hard this year to do what they do best – create franchise drama series built around the adventures of larger-than-life characters. Kathy Bates, Kaitlin Olson, Carrie Preston and Shanola Hampton are among the female actors hoping to click as distinctive protagonists with new series in the 2023-24 season. Bates will bring to life a next-generation “Matlock,” while Preston limns a new chapter for Elsbeth Tascioni, the attorney character she has played on and off on CBS’ “The Good Wife” and Paramount+’s “The Good Fight” since 2010. This is good news for the hundreds of international television buyers heading to Los Angeles for next week’s LA Screenings market. Another welcome development is that the largest media congloms are now on a big push to reopen their doors to third-party buyers, after a few years of holding back the biggest shows for in-house streaming services.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney has pegged total cash content spending at around $30 billion for this year — but the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike may drive that down, CFO Christine McCarthy said. “If you haven’t noticed we’re in the middle of a writers strike,” McCarthy said, speaking Wednesday at MoffettNathanson’s Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in New York. The WGA walkout may reduce Disney’s cash spending on content for the balance of the year, she said. At the MoffettNathanson conference, MCarthy appeared alongside Disney president of ad sales Rita Ferro. The two Disney execs spoke a day after the media conglom’s upfront presentation in the Big Apple to ad buyers and brands — which was noticeably light on scripted fare, given the writers strike. Marvel’s Kevin Feige previewed upcoming Disney+ series “Secret Invasion,” featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle, and announced premiere dates for “Loki” Season 2 and “Hawkeye” spinoff “Echo.”

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Since the writers strike started on May 2, celebrities have turned out to support WGA members picketing for a better guild contract. Actors like Fred Armisen are also writers who are members of the WGA, while some SAG-AFTRA members are walking the line to support their colleagues. Since most TV shows and movies have suspended production until the strike is resolved, stars, writers and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan are taking to the streets to show their support for members of the Writers Guild of America.

This year’s Peabody Awards ceremony has been canceled “due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide,” according to a statement from the Peabody Awards organization. The June 11 awards would have been the organization’s first in-person ceremony since 2019, as well as the first time ever in its history that the Awards would take place in Los Angeles.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Peabody Awards won’t be throwing a return celebration this year after all. The org has scrapped this years event, which would have been the first in-person Peabody ceremony since 2019 (before the pandemic), in the wake of the writers strike. Originally set to be held on Sunday, June 11, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, this also would have been the first Peabody Awards to be held in Southern California. “As an organization dedicated to honoring the most compelling and empowering stories in broadcasting and streaming media, we recognize and respect the position that many of this year’s Peabody Award winners find themselves in,” the org said in a statement. “Due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide, we have decided to cancel the 83rd annual Peabody Awards ceremony that was set to take place on June 11 in Los Angeles. Canceling the ceremony is extremely disappointing as this year’s 39 winners are immensely talented and have brought forth powerful stories that deserve to be celebrated.”

The NBCUniversal Upfront kicked off a week of events in New York amid a writers strike.

Bad Sisters creator Sharon Horgan has joined the writers strike for her U.S. projects, but is continuing to work on Season 2 of the Apple TV+ series.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos will no longer attend a gala meant to honor him next week in New York. The decision comes as labor issues grab headlines across Hollywood. Sarandos was set to accept the Business Visionary Award at the annual PEN American Spring Literary Gala, alongside fellow honoree Lorne Michaels and a host of literati including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Susan Choi, Jennifer Egan, Min Jin Lee, Jay McInerney and Gay Talese. He’s skipping the event, to be held under the blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History, as many industry celebrations weigh how to address the writers strike. “Given the potential to disrupt this wonderful evening, I thought it was best to pull out so as not to distract from the important work that PEN America does for writers and journalists, as well as the celebration of my friend and personal hero Lorne Michaels. I hope the evening is a great success,” Sarandos told Variety in a statement.

 The Hollywood writers’ strike that’s snarling the television and movie industries has now scrambled the White House schedule.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance at an MTV-sponsored town hall has been postponed amid the the Writers Guild of America strike.

numerous postponed TV shows was also fast approaching Emmys voting season.On Sunday, WGA informed studios that it is canceling all advertising of For Your Consideration (FYC) events. “After deliberation with our legal department, all FYC production is now suspended,” WGA leadership said in an email to studio awards teams obtained by TheWrap.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Joe Russo is sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence. Six days before the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called for a strike, I spoke to Joe Russo at the Los Angeles premiere of “Citadel” about his concerns regarding AI. The use of AI has become a major point of contention between the guild and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTA). “I think everyone should be scared of AI,” Russo said. “I don’t know if you’ve heard any of the Drake ‘songs’ that have been dropping on social media, but it’s here. It’s not going anywhere.” The “Avengers” director said in order for AI to work, it must be a “tool servicing us rather than us servicing the tool.”

Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman will have to wait a little longer to receive her Life Achievement Award tribute from AFI, as the ceremony planned for June 10 has been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing writers strike.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter The American Film Institute has postponed its annual Life Achievement Award, which was set to honor Nicole Kidman, due to the ongoing writers strike. The indefinitely delayed tribute gala was scheduled for June 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. “For nearly half a century, the AFI Life Achievement Award has convened artists and audiences in celebration of excellence in the art form,” the organization said in a statement. “Due to the division in our community at this time, AFI has decided to postpone this year’s event with the goal to offer a celebratory environment worthy of our recipient.” When she was selected for the accolade in November, AFI Board of Trustees chair Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement, “Nicole Kidman has enchanted audiences for decades with the daring of her artistry and the glamour of a screen icon. She is a force both brave in her choices and bold in each performance.”

McKinley Franklin editor Joel McHale showed his support for the Writers Guild of America in a very Joel McHale way: With a series of bad jokes. At City Year Los Angeles’s 12th annual Spring Break: Destination Education event this Saturday, McHale opened up the night series of events by addressing the looming “elephant” in the room at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City. Following an introduction from Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, McHale addressed the ongoing writer’s strike in his opening speech. Vinciquerra did not address the strike at the event. 

Writers Guild of America has notified studios that it will not be running FYC ads for the upcoming Emmy season on its website or in email communications to members, two insiders have told TheWrap.“After deliberation with our legal department, all FYC production is now suspended,” read an email from the guild to studio awards teams obtained by TheWrap. “We understand that this may be frustrating and that you have media already planned, but due to the strike rules, we cannot continue.”The guild is offering studios who have already bought ad space the choice between a full refund or credit towards future FYC ads after the strike concludes.

tweeted her email notification.“The May 8 screening for ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ has been postponed,” the email from Bateman’s tweet reads.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Judd Apatow thinks the studios and streamers already have an idea of when the writers strike may end. “I think they probably already know what they’re going to bend on,” Apatow told Variety Saturday at the Rock4EB benefit in Malibu. “I would assume they already know what date this is going to end. They’ve probably been planning this for years.” The writer-director reflected comments heard on picket lines in Los Angeles and New York after talks cratered between the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the writers union began to strike Tuesday. Apatow explained that he sees the strike as a calculated business move by Hollywood’s largest employers.

The Monday, May 8 Los Angeles premiere of documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie has been postponed because of the main subject’s refusal to cross a Writer’s Guild picket line. The film was set to bow at Universal Studios

The MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be held live amid the ongoing writers’ strike, instead pivoting to a pre-taped ceremony that will air Sunday. The network announced the news Friday as the writers’ strike, which officially began Tuesday, continues in Los Angeles and New York City, after a breakdown in talks with studios and streaming services.