Every TV Show Delayed by the Writers’ Strike

A large (and essential) part of Hollywood is on hold right now as the Writers Guild of America's strike enters its third week with no signs of stopping.

As members of the WGA and their supporters from across the industry hold the picket lines, several production studios have closed their sets until negotiations bring this contract dispute to an end. 

While some series are reportedly continuing without having an active writing staff on hand for production, like House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, others have come to a grinding halt amid the strike, whether by choice or not. The 2023 MTV Movie Awards, for example, pivoted from a live show to pre-taped after host Drew Barrymore decided to back away from her hosting spot in solidarity with the strikers.

If you're curious about how your favorite series are being affected by the WGA strike, here's a look at those shows that are pressing pause on themselves as the strike wages on (and bookmark this page for continued updates of the list):

Late-night TV

Late-night television shows were among the first to put things on hold when the writers' strike commenced, and some hosts also joined forces to provide ice cream to picketers at the CBS studio. Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers even ponied up cash from their own pockets to pay their staffers' weekly salaries as the strike continued.

Stephen Colbert was prepared to turn off the studio lights on CBS's The Late Show before the WGA officially went on strike. On his May 2 show, just hours before the existing WGA contract ended (thus initiating the strike), Colbert shared photos of his own show writers and said, "They're so important to our show. They write the monologue, the 'Meanwhile…,' the cold open, and without these people this show would be called The Late Show With a Guy Rambling About Lord of the Rings and Boats for an Hour." 

Seth Meyers, too, spoke out about Late Night's plan to go dark amid the WGA strike well in advance. In part of his April 28 "Corrections" segment, he warned audiences, "I am deeply proud of the fact that I get to be a professional writer. … I've been through this before in 2007 and 2008. There was a very long strike when I was working on SNL, it was miserable." While Meyers expressed his hopes that a deal might be reached to stave off a strike, he added, "I also feel really strongly that what the writers are asking for is not unreasonable, and as a proud member of the Guild, I'm very grateful there's an organization that looks out for the best interests of the writers. So if you don't see me here next week, know that it is something that is not done lightly." Meyers was later spotted joining a picket line in New York.

Jimmy Fallon also spoke out in support of his writers amid the strike at this year's Met Gala, saying, "I need my writers, I need them real bad. I got no show without my writers." Fallon joined Meyers and NBC in paying writers during the strike. 

Late-night shows affected:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Kimmel Live
The Daily Show
Real Time with Bill Maher
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Daytime TV

The Talk: While other daytime talk shows like The View and Live WIth Kelly and Mark have not ceased to air new episodes during the strike, CBS's The Talk, which employs Guild writers, went dark.

Broadcast TV

Abbott Elementary: Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph told Today that the series' writers were supposed to convene May 3 to pen the third season of the hit ABC sitcom; however, that was put on delay due to the strike. Star and Abbott creator Quinta Brunson has since been seen on the picket line and tweeted, "I am a writer. I'm in the WGA. I'm also on strike! I have no real power here other than to join my union in demanding fair compensation for writers!"

Abbott writer Brittani Nichols told Democracy Now! that the strike could affect the length of Season 3, explaining, "We are a show that writes while we air. If this strike goes on for a significant period of time, our show will not come out on time and that could change the amount of episodes, which I’m sure people will be very upset about."

Family Guy and American Dad: According to Deadline, Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane has joined showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin in refusing to work on the shows until the WGA strike reaches its conclusion.

FBI: Most Wanted: Filming on the CBS drama's fifth season was disrupted by strikers on multiple occasions, per Deadline.

Jeopardy!: Deadline reported on May 11 that Jeopardy! co-host Mayim Bialik walked out of the final week of shooting for Season 39 in solidarity with the WGA. Production has continued, with Ken Jennings taking over hosting duties for the term. The game show uses contributions from WGA writers when writing trivia questions; however, the final week's questions were written before the strike.

Night Court: Production on the NBC comedy's second season has reportedly come to a halt due to the strike, per Deadline.

Password: Production on the NBC game show from Jimmy Fallon and hosted by Keke Palmer has been postponed due to the strike.

Saturday Night Live: SNL had just a few episodes left on the books for Season 48, with guest host Pete Davidson on tap to host the May 6 episode alongside musical guest Lil Uzi Vert, while Succession's Kieran Culkin and The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge were in line to finish out the season's last two episodes. However, the timing of the strike meant that none of these live episodes happened. 

Prior to his episode's cancellation, Davidson appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his new Peacock series Bupkis and spoke about the possibility that he might not get to host after all. "It's funny. Lorne [Michaels] told me a couple of months ago, but then this week, they're like, 'As you know the writers’ strike might happen.' So I've been working on this for like two or three months, and they're like, 'Yeah, well, we'll know Monday if it's happening or not' … but it sucks because it just feeds that weird story I have happening in my head, like, 'Of course that would happen to me… It's all about me!'" After the fact, however, he showed up to a WGA strike location with pizza in hand and said, "You gotta support the writers, man. No shows without the writers."

Cable TV

Billions: Picket lines prevented the Showtime drama Billions from shooting in New York — for a brief time, at least.

Hacks: The HBO comedy favorite has halted production for Season 3 as well. Creator Jen Statsky wrote on Twitter, "We are devastated to not be with our incredible crew and cast right now, but there was no other option here. Writing happens at every stage of the process — production and post included. It’s what makes shows and movies good. It’s what makes them possible."

The Last of Us: According to Variety, HBO's The Last of Us discontinued plans to conduct auditions for Season 2 due to the writers' strike.

Yellowjackets: The hit Showtime drama closed up shop early for Season 3. Co-creator Ashley Lyle shared on Twitter: "Well, we had exactly one day in the Yellowjackets S3 writers’ room. It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I’m very excited to get back to it as soon as the WGA gets a fair deal."

Streaming TV

Andor: Creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy initially continued to work in a non-writing capacity (as the scripts were reportedly done ahead of the strike) on Andor's next season, but he decided to step away from his desk altogether shortly thereafter. In a statement provided to Deadline on May 10, he said, "I discontinued ALL writing and writing-related work on Andor prior to midnight, May 1. After being briefed on the Saturday showrunner meeting, I informed Chris Keyser at the WGA on Sunday morning that I would also be ceasing ALL non-writing producing functions."

Cobra Kai: Netflix has become something of a lightning rod amid the WGA strike, particularly when it comes to the compensatory issues associated with streaming services, and the company decided to cancel its planned in-person upfronts presentation for potential advertisers as a result of planned protests. In addition, several of their tentpole series are directly impacted by the strike. 

Cobra Kai has been a mainstay of the Netflix scripted series collective since the streaming service picked the show up from YouTube for Season 3, but it's also on pause right now. Series co-creator Jon Hurwitz wrote, "We hate to strike, but if we must, we strike hard. Pencils down in the Cobra Kai writers room. No writers on set. These aren't fun times, but it's unfortunately necessary."

Daredevil: The WGA East also showed fellow union members picketing the filming location of Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again and refusing to cross the line.

Evil: Production on Paramount+'s Evil ended a bit ahead of schedule as picketers circled the shoot on May 6. However, Variety reported that the preemptive end to Season 4 production was due to a castmember taking a leave of absence from the series due to a personal matter.

The Handmaid's Tale: Co-showrunner and executive producer Yahlin Chang is part of the WGA's negotiating committee, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the award-winning Hulu series is also affected by the strike, as writing for the show's final season is on hold.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight: Game of Thrones' first spin-off series, House of the Dragon, is continuing production on its second season (per George R.R. Martin's blog, "the scripts for the eight [Season 2] episodes were all finished months ago" and have been through "four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions"). However, the other in-the-works follow-up, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has closed its writers’ room until the strike is done. 

Loot: Production on Apple TV+'s Loot was reportedly interrupted by picketing in New York. 

The Penguin: This Colin Farrell-led spin-off of The Batman has also suspended production in the wake of the WGA protest, per Deadline.

P-Valley: Starz's drama P-Valley is postponing production until the end of the strike. Creator Katori Hall wrote on Twitter, "Like many of my fellow showrunners, I feel as though my writing & producing duties are inextricably linked. We will not be filming until a fair deal is reached."

Severance: The WGA East reported that fellow union members from IATSE and the Teamsters disrupted planned production on Apple TV+'s Severance in New York.

Stranger Things: Fans will have to wait even longer for Stranger Things' final season as this show, too, is on hold. The Duffer Brothers announced the news on Twitter: "Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out."

Live TV events

The 2023 MTV Movie Awards: Drew Barrymore dropped out of hosting this year's MTV Movie Awards in solidarity with the writers' strike. Shortly thereafter, MTV pivoted from a live broadcast to a pre-taped show.

The 76th Annual Tony Awards: While at first, it was announced that the Tony Awards would not air on June 11, that has since changed. Producers of the show reportedly requested a waiver that would allow the broadcast to continue but were denied, but the WGA did agree to not picket the show after producers offered to make some changes to the show.

"As has been previously reported, the Writers Guilds of America East and West (WGA) will not negotiate an interim agreement or a waiver for the Tony Awards," read the WGA's statement. "However, Tony Awards Productions (a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing) has communicated with us that they are altering this year's show to conform with specific requests from the WGA, and therefore the WGA will not be picketing the show."

The 83rd Peabody Awards: The Peabody Awards were set to have their first in-person ceremony since 2019 (and their first-ever in Southern California) on June 11, but the ceremony is canceled due to the strike. "As an organization dedicated to honoring the most compelling and empowering stories in broadcasting and streaming media, we recognize and respect the position that many of this year’s Peabody Award winners find themselves in,” the organization said in a statement to Variety.

The 50th Daytime Emmys and Creative Arts Emmys: The ceremonies celebrating the Daytime Emmy awards and Creative Arts awards will be postponed. They were originally scheduled for June 16 and 17, but will now air at a "later date," pending a strike resolution.