SeriesFest Adjusts Schedule As Showrunners and Writers Cancel Due to Strike

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Warner Bros. Discovery’s newly launched Max lumped film directors and writers under a single “creators” heading — a change that prompted a backlash from filmmakers and Hollywood’s directors and writers guilds. Now the company is changing the listings back, blaming the issue on a technical “oversight.” “We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized,” a Max spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake.” The move drew ire amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, in which the union is seeking to reach a new contract with major studios.

“Succession,” the actor who plays Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) humble and morally conscious brother thanked the show’s writers for his big moment and expressed solidarity with the WGA strike.“It begins with the words,” Cromwell wrote on Twitter. “Nothing happens without them. Sometimes, the writing achieves transcendence, but, in every case, it’s seminal.

Sophie Habboo and Jaimie Laing tied the knot for a second time on Saturday in a stunning ceremony in front of hundreds of guests, just a month on from their lower key courthouse wedding in April. While the Spanish celebrations seemingly went without a hitch, the loved up pair have revealed that this almost wasn't the case as thanks to predictions of poor weather, the couple's wedding planner suggested cancelling the celebration.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Directors Guild of America is disputing a Writers Guild of America strike rule that forbids writer-directors from making minor script changes. The conflict revives a decades-old battle — which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 — over the WGA’s jurisdiction. Though the Supreme Court ruled against the WGA, the guild has continued to argue that “hyphenate” members are prohibited from making minor script modifications during a strike. The dispute turns on eight types of activities — including cutting material for time, making adjustments in dialogue, and changing stage directions — that the WGA sees as writing work under its jurisdiction.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A lot of TV companies are judged by how quickly they can introduce new shows. Warner Bros. Discovery thinks it may find some gains by developing new ways to introduce audiences to series and content that already exists The strategy has been playing out in open view on some of the company’s biggest cable networks. Audiences watching NBA basketball games have been pushed to sample series such as Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions,” HGTV’s “Rock The Block” and Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch.” And some portion decided to follow the programs back to their original homes for more. According to company research, 12% of TNT sports viewers who sampled “Tournament” went on to watch it on Food Network. Likewise, 10% of basketball fans that tried “Rock The Block” followed it to HGTV while 7% of viewers who tested “Deadliest Catch” watched more of it on Discovery.

WGA strike.“We are grateful for the contribution writers make to our company and respect their right to demonstrate it may take some time, but I know we will eventually get through this and the result will be a stronger foundation on which we can all move forward together,” Chairman of NBCUniversal Mark Lazarus said during the New York event. Unsurprisingly, the event scaled back on its celebrities, relying on more executives and reality TV stars to introduce its clips and segments.

WEi have cancelled the majority of their Latin America ‘Passion’ tour.Over the weekend, WEi and their label OUI Entertainment announced that they have cancelled all dates on their upcoming Latin America ‘Passion’ tour, with the exception of the Mexico City stop on June 4.“We requested visa issuance and other matters that had to be checked in advance to ensure smooth performance. Nevertheless, we were told to proceed with the concert without issuing a proper visa and to perform in an open-air venue,” OUI Entertainment said.“Furthermore, some of the notices were not negotiated with OUI Entertainment before uploading,” the agency added.

In May 2020, CBS announced what then-CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl called “‘fall’ schedule with quotes,” featuring the shows they wanted without knowing when each would be ready amid the pandemic-related global production shutdown.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large CBS is supersizing two of its signature reality franchises: “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” will permanently expand to 90-minute episodes next season, the network announced Thursday morning as it unveiled its 2023-2024 TV lineup. The Eye network went first with its fall plans, but there’s a caveat to it all: The writers strike means it’s very likely that primetime won’t look at all like this come September. And indeed, CBS already has contingency plans in place, including several unscripted series waiting in the wings. But for now, CBS will head into fall with a primetime schedule that looks nearly identical to its current one. The Wednesday switch to just “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race,” for example, simply takes the night’s current 10 p.m. inhabitant, the canceled “True Lies,” out of the equation. Last fall, CBS opened the season with three reality shows on the night: “Survivor,” “The Real Love Boat” and “The Amazing Race,” so an all-reality Wednesday is not uncommon. (Nor are expanded 90-minute editions of “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race,” but until now those were reserved for special moments, like premieres and finales.)

Imagine Dragons, in solidarity with the writers strike, showed up at the Netflix picket line to support writers.

flyer for the all inclusive 21+ event reads, posted to Twitter by the event co-hosts. “Join us to fight for our rights … and for love!Single and striking? See you on Wednesday! @ellerowe @deannashumaker @debbywolfe pic.twitter.com/fewVcsnN3FThe event is co-hosted by WGA member and TV writer Jaydi Samuels Kuba and development exec and TV producer Lauren Rosenberg, who own matchmaking company LJMatchmaking and have been widely known as the “Love Agents of Hollywood.” Samuels Kuba and Rosenberg had initially floated the idea of throwing a singles picket, and decided to combine forces with writers Debby Wolfe and Marcos Luevanos, who had a similar idea and decided to cover the cost of drinks for single writers following the afternoon picket shift for a limited time.Writer Deanna Shumaker also joins the organizing team after previously suggesting a color-coded tape system for picketers to identify potential love interests on their picketing signs.

Morgan Wallen is now under mandatory vocal rest.The country star on Tuesday announced that he'll have to reschedule six weeks worth of shows after reinjuring his vocal cords during three recent shows. Wallen took to his Instagram account to share the devastating news.«I got some bad news from my doctors at the Vanderbilt Voice Center yesterday,» he said in a video.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The MTV Movie & TV Awards may still be going on this Sunday without the services of host Drew Barrymore, but the Writers Guild has taken notice. In a short press release on Friday, the guild announced that it would picket outside Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, where the kudocast is set to take place on May 7, at 5 p.m. PT. MTV had already scrapped a red carpet before the show, in the hopes that the awards show would stay off the radar of any pickets. As Variety wrote exclusively on Thursday, Barrymore opted to step down as host of this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, in a show of support and solidarity to the striking Writers Guild members. She instead agreed to return and host next year’s edition of the kudocast instead.

You are reading an exclusive WrapPRO article for free. Want to level up your entertainment career? Subscribe to WrapPRO.David Mandel isn’t one to sugarcoat. It’s a trait that appears in his work, from the vicious insults of “Veep” to the intentionally reprehensible characters at the center of HBO’s “White House Plumbers.” It also emerged when TheWrap asked the longtime series creator his thoughts on the currently unfolding WGA strike.

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”.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav responded to the writers strike following the release of the company’s Q1 earnings report Friday, shooting down claims that some companies are “glad” that the the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is picketing instead of writing. “We’re not glad,” Zaslav said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Day 4 of the writers strike. “In order to create great storytelling, we need great writers, and we need the whole industry to work together,” the WBD chief said. “And everybody deserves to be paid fairly. So our number one focus is, let’s try and get this resolved. Let’s do it in a way that that the writers feel that they’re valued, which they are, and they’re compensated fairly. And then off we go. Let’s tell great stories together.”

Chelsea Handler is standing with the WGA strike — “obviously.” The comedian told TheWrap as much during an interview promoting her “Little Big Bitch” comedy tour, which will see Handler headlining the the Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver on May 10 for SeriesFest.“Obviously, I stand with the writers, absolutely, and the WGA,” Handler said. “It’s unfortunate that it has to come to this.”To Handler, sharing profits and offering better deals to writers seems like an “obvious move” for large corporations that “make tons of money.” “The trickle-down economics don’t necessarily work. So I think it’s the only fair thing to do, and hopefully it’ll be over sooner than later,” Handler said.The actor and writer also spoke about potentially taking over “The Daily Show” after Trevor Noah left the late-night show in December.

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.

There’s no telling how long the Writers Guild of America strike will last, but as it enters its second day, guild leaders expect it to still be going by May 15, when they’re planning to stage massive rallies on both coasts. The last writers strike, in 2007-08 lasted 100 days, and the one before that, in 1988, lasted 153 days.

WGA went on strike, in 2007. The strike promises to bring even more upheaval to a marketplace that is already grappling with the fallout from technological disruption and still rebuilding from the pandemic. Six weeks of tense negotiations made it clear that the industry faces a reckoning after a decade of the Peak TV content boom that has strained Hollywood’s creative infrastructure to its breaking point.