New York (CNN) – Do you remember when a new TV season started in September? It won’t be like that this year.
Are you eagerly awaiting the big blockbusters hitting theaters next summer? That can’t happen.
Have you heard great things about Breaking Bad or The Wire but never seen them? Or maybe something newer like “The Last of Us,” which just got nominated for more than two dozen Emmy Awards? This is your chance.
And by the way, it might be a while before you know how many of those Emmys “The Last of Us” are finally taking home. Like many other things in the television and film industry, the award ceremony is currently very uncertain.
But what you can expect is more reality shows and maybe game shows and probably more opportunities to watch binge shows that have already premiered on your favorite streaming service.
This is because about 160,000 SAG-AFTRA actors went on strike, joining the more than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America who have been on strike since May 2nd.
Prepare for the long haul
Of course, some films, like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, are already finished and ready for theatrical release. And just as automakers or other manufacturers are trying to stockpile additional stock before the strike period ends, some streaming services have been arming themselves with new movies and shows.
“We had to expect the worst. So we have a pretty solid release schedule that’s going to be a long time coming,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in April, just before the writers’ strike began.
But the stream of new series is already gradually decreasing.
Data from California Filming Permits suggests that production of most series and films has already halted due to the writers’ strike. Although films often have a script in place when filming begins, revisions and changes require the hiring of a screenwriter during production.
Now that the actors are also on strike, much of the remaining production is being shut down. An exception are independent films that are not assigned to any of the major studios.
One group of television shows that will continue to produce new episodes are traditional daytime soap operas. The writers on these shows are typically non-syndicated, and the syndicated actors work under a different contract than the one that expired at 11:59 p.m. PDT this Wednesday.
However, most of the other players stopped their jobs when the union board voted to go on strike late Thursday night. Affiliates voted 98% for approval.
The actors will not be promoting the films that are hitting theaters, nor will they be appearing on the red carpet at premieres, nor will they be giving interviews on podcasts. Of course, the writers’ strike meant the immediate cancellation of new episodes of American late-night shows, so opportunities for such publicity were already limited.
How long it will take?
It is unclear how long this situation will last. Some industry insiders hope the simultaneous furlough of writers and actors will increase the pressure on studios and streaming services to improve their offerings and get everyone back to work as soon as possible. The last time the Screenwriters and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the precursor to SAG-AFTRA, went on strike at the same time was in 1960, so long ago that Ronald Reagan was the President of SAG leading the strike .
However, everyone agrees that the industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation as the way audiences consume broadcasts, and with it the economy, is rapidly changing.
Disney CEO Bob Iger doesn’t seem to indicate in his statements Thursday morning that there will be a short-term fix.
“They add to a number of challenges that this company is already facing, which are frankly very disruptive,” said Iger, who will receive more than $25 million in compensation this year, in an interview via SAG -AFTRA and the Writers Guild CNBC. “You have to be realistic about the business environment and what this company can do.”
But the unions say their members are suffering from changes in the industry, such as reducing the amount of broadcast waste in the streaming age, and are being pushed to the point where they can no longer accept what studios and streaming services are saying .
“Studios and streaming services have made unilateral changes to our industry’s business model while insisting our contracts remain in limbo,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator, in a statement released Thursday morning. “Studios and streamers underestimated the determination of our members, as you’re about to find out.”
So don’t expect many of your favorite series to be back anytime soon.