Pens Down: What Writers Not Working Really Means for the Shows in Production

Paddy Considine has played cops, ex-cons, priests, architects, struggling actors, union organizers and rock band managers. But when his agent told him that Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik wanted him to play King Viserys I Targaryen in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series, “House of the Dragon,” he couldn’t quite believe it was real. “I said, ‘Who’s turned this down?’ Because I’m cynical that way,” he says. “My agent was like, ‘I assure you, they’re just coming to you for it.’” Part of Considine’s disbelief was due to his feeling that the industry at large had only ever seen him as the working-class striver he made his name playing in the 2000s, in films such as “In America,” “My Summer of Love” and “Cinderella Man.”

Alison Herman TV Critic All awards shows are arbitrary, and none more so than the Emmys, for which voters must select a handful of nominees and winners from an ocean of worthwhile television. The shows on this list, arranged alphabetically, represent just a small sampling of the series that deserve recognition from the TV Academy, and while some are more likely to receive an official nod than others, all are worth viewers’ precious time. In its first season, “Abbott” became the increasingly rare broadcast sitcom to resonate with both audiences and critics.

There was come old-school writer cred on the picket line outside the Fox lot in Century City today. David E. Kelley, he of the 11 Emmys and 30 nominations, is a veteran of multiple WGA strikes going back to 1988. Introducing himself as “David E. Kelley, old writer,” the Love & Death creator — whose many credits also include Big Little Lies, Big Sky, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Undoing, The Practice, Ally McBeal, and Picket Fences — told Deadline why he’s striking this time.

Seth MacFarlane is standing with striking writers.

Gareth Edwards hasn’t directed a film in seven years. There could be a number of reasons why, but unfortunately for him, his last film, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” was shrouded in controversy as it was heavily reported that Edwards was effectively replaced midway through production by Tony Gilroy because the former’s first cut of the film was a mess.

Sophia Scorziello editor The ATX TV Festival has made changes to their program amid the ongoing writers strike, including the addition of the WGA on Strike! panel of leading television writers. The conversation will address the key issues that writers are fighting for as they share why the strike matters to Hollywood and entertainment unions at large. The panel will host Zoanne Clack (WGA West), Greg Iwinski (WGA East, negotiating committee), Damon Lindelof (WGA West) and Julie Plec (WGA West) and will be moderated by Beau Willimon (WGA East). The festival has cancelled select programs, including “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” the “Andor” conversation with Tony Gilroy, “Tiny Beautiful Things” conversation with Liz Tigelaar and Cheryl Strayed and the “Dawson’s Creek” 25th Anniversary Screening & Conversation.

The yearly ATX Television Festival will adjust its schedule to accommodate conversations about the ongoing writers strike, some of which will replace previously announced panels. The Austin-based event runs from June 1 – 4.

Even though Prince Harry only stayed in England for roughly 24 hours for the coronation, he made sure to carve out some time to catch up with one family member during his brief visit.

Tony Gilroy is standing with the writers amid their strike.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Fans of “The Voice” will soon be able to jump into a new immersive virtual world where they can create music, show off their dancing skills, compete in battles, win digital merch — and even audition to be on an upcoming season of the reality-competition series. “The Voice Studios,” from ITV Studios and metaverse developer Virtual Brand Group, is set to debut May 12. The global launch of the Roblox-style virtual world is timed for the final weeks of Season 23 of “The Voice” on NBC. Free for anyone to access, “The Voice Studios” will be located in Vegas City, the entertainment destination in metaverse platform Decentraland (at this link). Its launch follows a virtual pop-up event for “The Voice” last year at the Decentraland Metaverse Music Festival that also was created by VBG.

Andor creator/showrunner Tony Gilroy says he has ceased all non-writing producing duties on the Disney+ series amid the WGA strike.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments and the post-credits scenes in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” currently playing in theaters. By this point, it’s no secret that Marvel Studios has lost some of its luster in its post-“Avengers: Endgame” era. Between the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s rapid expansion on Disney+ and the exits of stars like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and the late Chadwick Boseman, the Marvel saga has often felt at once too much and not enough: Sprawl without a center. It’s a problem that “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is particularly ill-equipped to address. For one, the film is wholly disconnected from everything else that’s happened in the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-“Endgame” — there’s not a whisper of Kang or the multiverse or incursions or Talokan or, hilariously, Thor, even though the Guardians made a special appearance in “Thor: Love and Thunder” last summer. For another, the Guardians themselves — at least, as audiences have grown to know and love them — are also leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe, between stars Zoe Saldaña and Dave Bautista making clear they’re finished with their respective roles, and writer-director James Gunn departing Marvel to co-run DC Studios with Peter Safran. 

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Marvel Studios’ “Blade” is going back into hibernation. Due to the ongoing writers strike, Marvel has shut down pre-production on the vampire reboot, which is set to star Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire hunter alongside Aaron Pierre, Delroy Lindo and Mia Goth. Production was expected to start in Atlanta within the month for an anticipated Sept. 6, 2024 release. This isn’t the first time Disney has had to delay production on the film. Last October, Disney pushed “Blade” from a 2023 release to 2024 after the original director, Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli”), left the project two months before filming was set to begin. In November, Yann Demange (“Lovecraft Country”) took over directing duties from a script by Michael Starrbury (“When They See Us”). In April, just weeks before the WGA contract deadline, Nic Pizzolatto (“True Detective”) joined the production, re-writing from Starrbury’s screenplay. He ran out of time to complete his work before the strike began.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power season two will finish filming amid the ongoing writers’ strike, despite executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay not being present on set.READ MORE: ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’ review: epic fantasy franchise returns to rule them allThe Amazon Prime Video series reportedly has 19 days of filming remaining, but as per the rules laid out by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Payne, McKay and other writer-producers are prohibited from taking part in any writing-based activities during the strike. This includes making decisions on set.In their place, non-writing producers, such as Lindsey Weber, directors Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper, and crew members will be overseeing the production for the UK-based shoot.As reported by Variety, a source close to the production has claimed that there have been multiple units filming on Rings Of Power during the strike, including night shoots.Payne and McKay also planned for the strike in advance with fellow producers, directors and crew members, so that their absence would not impact production.Last month, it was reported that a fire broke out on the set of the show.

An array of shows have had to come to a standstill amid the Hollywood writers’ strike, but not “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is the latest marquee TV series to move forward with production amid the ongoing WGA strike, but the Amazon Prime Video show will be doing so without the services of executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. The sweeping fantasy series has 19 days of filming remaining, sources confirm to Variety, but per WGA strike rules, Payne, McKay and any other writer-producers are barred from participating in any writing-based duties during production while the strike continues — including making creative decisions on set. Instead, the show’s non-writing executive producers (like Lindsey Weber), directors (Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper) and crew are overseeing production on the U.K.-based shoot.

The writers strike, so far, has not affected production on Amazon series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and HBO’s House of the Dragon, both of which are currently shooting in the UK.

The Writers Guild of America strike is underway with hundreds of TV and film writers taking to the picket lines. Of course, that means writing work has come to a halt on many TV shows such as Cobra Kai, Yellowjackets, and Abbott Elementary, among others. Deadline will update you with latest on delays and potential production shutdowns as a result of the strike, so keep refreshing the page.

House of the Dragon” will continue in the U.K. despite the U.S. writers’ strike. A source close to production tells Variety that scripts on the hit show have been done for some time, and that filming on the second season won’t be affected. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended contract talks with the Writers Guild of America on Monday night, hours before the contract expiration deadline. The WGA responded by calling for a strike to begin on Tuesday. Under strike rules, WGA members working internationally must down tools on any project that falls within the union’s jurisdiction if there’s active writing work taking place. As such, a number of U.S. projects filming in the U.K. could be affected by the strike — it’s just a matter of how extensively such a disruption will impact the production overall.

ScreenCraft, a writers’ community, is preparing for its annual Writers Summit and has set an A-list guest list.