‘Hacks’ Production Paused For Duration Of Writers Strike

EXCLUSIVE: Filming on Season 2 of the FX drama series The Old Man, starring Jeff Bridges, is being suspended. We hear the crew of the series, produced by 20th Television, were alerted this morning of the decision to stop after today’s shoot, completing Episode 204.

Fast and Furious actor Vin Diesel has shared his support for the Hollywood writers' strike. The 55-year-old actor was seen alongside his Fast-X co-stars at a fundraiser at Universal Studios Hollywood for the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project.

As the Writers Guild strike stretches into its fourth week, Michael Schur is feeling resolute.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor In the new Apple TV+ comedy noir series “High Desert,” Patricia Arquette and Matt Dillon play an off-and-on again couple so naturally that it seems like they must have starred together in some iconic 1990s indie movie. Surprisingly, they haven’t, but the off-kilter, sun-baked menace of films like Arquette starrers “True Romance” and “Lost Highway” permeates the new series, which is peopled with what Arquette calls “wild and weird creatures” in an environment that alternates between arid beauty and strip mall desolation. In “High Desert,” Arquette’s methadone-dependent, perennial wild child Peggy Newman could not be more different than her buttoned-up “Severance” character Harmony Cobel, whether she’s piloting a dune buggy around the desert, swinging from a chandelier in a Pioneertown Old West show or getting mixed up with another half-baked scam. Peggy, who recently lost her mother, needs to raise money to stay in their house. She hatches a plan to become a private investigator, getting mixed up in cases involving art forgeries and a missing guru’s wife and more. “High Desert” premiered on May 17, with new episodes rolling out weekly.

As upfronts week comes to a close, the broadcast networks have announced many of their new series pickups for next season, although, amid a pull away from the traditional pilot cycle and the writers strike, pickup decisions on several pilots are still pending. Additionally, there are more reality series and acquisitions among the 2023-24 freshman class due to evolving business models as well as the work stoppage.

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.

The writers strike may bring about a disturbance in the force. The current work stoppage already has disrupted the production of several TV series; Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian may join the last.

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.”

EXCLUSIVE: Password, the game show from Jimmy Fallon and hosted by Keke Palmer, is returning to NBC for a second season.

Nearly two weeks into the national writers' strike spearheaded by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), little progress has been made between both sides. The WGA has a litany of requests for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Tony Gilroy is standing with the writers amid their strike.

@tomhanks knows the power of movies, and his new novel shares a behind-the-scenes look at the “back-breaking” work of making art — and why it’s all worth it in the end: “I can’t imagine a better way of spending two hours.” pic.twitter.com/fPtdNsr1Z8

Game of Thrones writer George R. R.

George R.R. Martin is expressing his full support for the Writers Guild and the ongoing strike. In a blog post, the Game of Thrones co-creator revealed the “The writers room on GoT spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Night has closed for the duration.”

 is the latest television series to pause production amid the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood.On Saturday, the Duffer Brothers, the duo behind the series and showrunners of the Netflix hit, took to Twitter to announce that production on the show's fifth and final season would have to come to a halt due to the strike.«Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike,» Matt and Ross Duffer tweeted.

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.

Stranger Things has been halted due to the Hollywood writers’ strike.Matt and Ross Duffer (aka the Duffer Brothers), who are the brains behind the hit Netflix sci-fi drama, announced on Twitter yesterday (May 6) that it’s “not possible” for the show to go ahead currently. They also threw their weight behind the strike.“Duffers here,” the brothers began. “Writing does not stop when filming begins.

J. Kim Murphy “Evil” is wrapping up filming on Season 4 earlier than anticipated. After the set faced disruptions by picketing Writers Guild members on Friday, the Paramount+ series is now seeing a cast member take a leave of absence due to a personal family matter. As a result, production has wrapped early on the next season. A source close to the series would only confirm that the early end to filming was a result of the unnamed actor’s temporary exit from the show. However, no filming occurred on Friday, as Writers Guild members on strike demonstrated near the production. The fourth season of “Evil” was commissioned to include 10 episodes. It remains unclear whether the early end to production will impact those plans.

Fans of Netflix’s Stranger Things will have to wait longer for the fifth and final season, whose start of production is being delayed by the writers strike. Faced with the prospect of filming without writers on set, creators, executive producers and showrunners the Duffer Brothers have opted to instead postpone production.

Marvel Studios has paused production once again on the upcoming reboot of Blade due to the ongoing writers’ strike.The new delay comes after the film – set to star Mahershala Ali – was paused late last year following the departure of director Bassim Tariq, with filming scheduled to start in Atlanta in November.Production was then pushed back to May, but has now been shelved again due to action by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), according to The Hollywood ReporterThe film’s release date, which was originally scheduled for November 3, 2023, has since been pushed back to September 6, 2024.There’s no word yet on whether the new delay will push back the release date any further.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the initial pause in production last year came to give the studio time to search for a new director and “coagulate other aspects” of the project.Tariq’s exit as director was cited as being “due to continued shifts in our production schedule,” according to Marvel. “Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,” the statement added.In a separate statement, Tariq said: “It’s been an honour working with the wonderful folks at Marvel.