I’m completely sympathetic to the members of the Writers Guild of America who are on strike. The number of jobs has shrunk and pay has dropped while in many cases workloads have increased. I have several friends in the biz and they’ve been struggling for years. I heard of a guy who worked as a writer on The Handmaid’s Tale has to drive for Lyft to make ends meet. WTF?
Meanwhile, streaming has changed the nature of the entire game. Back in the day when network programming dominated, we had something called “reruns.” That meant a steady flow of royalties that often ran for years. But in the age of streaming, nothing gets rerun. We binge, we finish, and we move on. Unless we’re talking about Big Bang Theory, shows in the Star Trek universe, Seinfeld, Friends, or 30 Rock, the number of people content to re-watch hit series, again and again, has dropped precipitously. Factor in cord-cutting and fewer and fewer writers are getting residuals.
So yes, strike. Even the playing field. Unfortunately, though, there will be some short-term inconveniences. Work on any TV shows or movies still in the conceptual/writing stage has been suspended. The most visible aspect is that production of late-night TV has stopped. The Jimmys, Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, John Oliver, and the rest of them are on the beach until things get settled.
Another casualty is Saturday Night Live. With just a few shows left in the 48th season, all have been canceled, including tonight’s program that was supposed to be hosted by Pete Davidson. (He’s probably okay with that because, in addition to the pressure to turn into a great performance, his beloved dog died this week.)
Had there not been a strike, we would have seen two more SNLs this year. I heard that Jennifer Coolidge was supposed to be the guest host next weekend (May 13) with Kieran Culkin holding things down for the last show on May 20. Makes sense since the finale of Succession happens the following Sunday.
I’ve also heard that the Foo Fighters had once again been booked as a musical guest before the end of the year. The best date for them would have been May 20 because that’s just four days before their first proper headlining gig since the death of Taylor Hawkins. That night, presumably, would have been an excellent chance to get a look at who will be playing drums going forward. But because of the writers’ strike, that will not happen.
As I type this, there are 18 days before that Foos comeback gig in New Hampshire. The band has to have some news for us soon, right? Right?
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