Writers Guild East Accuses NBC News of Undermining Union With Peacock Productions Shutdown

By Ted Johnson

By Brian Steinberg

By Jill Goldsmith

On Jan. 26, when discussing Kobe Bryant's tragic death on MSNBC, network personality Alison Morris "stuttered on air" and combined the words "Knicks" and "Lakers," leading some spectators to believe that she had used the n-word.

In March, NBC News unveiled a slate of shows to air on the short-form video platform Quibi and introduced the correspondents who would host them.

A day after a Los Angeles federal judge dismissed most of the Writers Guild of America's claims in its lawsuit against the major agencies, the guild wrote a note to its members on its next steps. "This is not the 'victory' they predicted or that they needed, which was the complete dismissal of the lawsuit," read a letter signed by the WGA's agency negotiating committee, referring to plaintiff agencies CAA, UTA and WME.

You can't keep the Alvarez family down. In the midst of its coronavirus-necessitated shutdown, One Day at a Time is producing an animated special set to air this spring, Deadline reports. The news was announced Tuesday, the day of the Pop TV sitcom's midseason finale — the last episode the show filmed before production was halted. Now, fans will be able to go into the episode knowing the characters will return soon in a new format.

By Nellie Andreeva

By Ted Johnson

Performers’ union SAG-AFTRA and major motion picture and television studios will commence bargaining on Monday ahead of a June 30 contract extension, the union and studio alliance said Friday in unexpected news.

By Denise Petski

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has agreed to a proposal from the Writers Guild of America that talks between the parties, delayed from March 23 by the pandemic, will start next month, according to a letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Writers Guild of America West is putting pressure on CBS to lengthen the number of sick days available to journalists covering the coronavirus outbreak. In a recent petitionpenned in March, the writers' union calls on the network to provide at least 14 days of paid sick leave tonews, web, digital, and promo writers that have been hospitalized with COVID-19, self-isolated due to COVID-19 infection or potential exposure and/or are caregivers for individuals that have contracted COVID-19.

Talks between the Writers Guild of America and major motion picture and television studios, originally scheduled to begin March 23, may start next month: the WGA West proposed in an email disclosed Friday that the parties exchange initial proposals May 1 and begin talks the week of May 11. The email, from WGAW executive director David Young to Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, also proposes extending the existing contract to June 30.

The Writers Guild of America on Thursday debuted an enhanced online staffing and development platform to connect writers directly with showrunners, producers, and executives. The revamped platform features upgraded capabilities and an improved user experience to help writers find jobs, the guild said.

By Matt Donnelly

By Dave McNary

On Wednesday, the Writers Guild of America East filed an unfair labor practice charge withthe National Labor Relations Board that accuses NBCUniversal of union-busting over the January closure of thenonfiction production unit Peacock Productions. The move follows a February request for more information about the nature of the union-shop shuttering.

By David Robb

By Peter White