Many of the leading TV shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Showis facing crisis as the writers of the Hollywood have united against some of the major production houses in USA. The first strike of Hollywood in 15 years began on Tuesday, when the pressures of streaming era prompted the TV and film writers to demand for better pay. “No Contracts, no contents!” is a sign carried by one of the members of Wristers Guild of America at the strike, outside NBC Universal building in Manhattan. Sources have informed that around 11,500 film and television writers have put down their pens, thus stopping their work, after failing to reach a contract with their trade associations that represents Hollywood studios and production companies.
The reports have added that the majors demands made by the writers are their minimum pay to be increased, shorter exclusive contracts, more writers per show among other demands. If the strike is to last longer, it’s subsequent effect can be seen on film and television productions, who in turn are under pressure from the Wall Street to register profits under the streaming service business.
As a result of the strike, several shows such as ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ Live, NBC’s ‘Tonight’ and ‘Late Night’, Comedy Central’s ‘Daily Show’, and CBS’s ‘The Late Show’ are all struggling as their writers are on strike, which means that they could go off-air for at least a few weeks.
A leading news publication has reported that the channels, ABC, NBC, and CBS will be airing repeat telecast of their shows. Meanwhile, HBO will also be ceasing the live production of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ and John Oliver’s ‘This Week Tonight’. As a result of the strike, Pete Davidson’s debut as host on Saturday Night Live has been cancelled for now.
Earlier, in a similar pattern of events, when WGA went on strike in 2008, several hosts stayed off air for at least two months. But Kimmel, David Letterman, and Jay Leno were among the few who managed to return to the air. This was possible because Leno was doing his own monologues. In his first on-air night amid the strike, he had said, “There are more people picketing NBC than watching NBC.” On the other hand, Letterman had made his own deal with WGA, which brought him his writers.
The scripted TV series and films are yet to be affected but if the strike is to continue throughout the summer, many production plans for series could be messed up. In the meantime, those with the finished scripts are permitted to carry on with their productions.
The multiple jokes and one-liners we hear during the late night shows are all credited to the writers. They posses as the backbone of many leading talk shows. They are also responsible for the sketches being performed that takes a jibe at current and trending events. The contract between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and Writers’ Guild of America, which represents around 350 production companies, came to an end on May 1.
