The WGA strike has reached the highest level of overall deals at Warner Bros. Television Group.
Tell sources The Hollywood reporter that the studio has suspended some overall deals for its top creatives, including JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot (Duster), Greg Berlanti (Superman and Lois), Chuck Lorre (Bob Hearts Abishola), Bill Lawrence (Shrink), John Wells (Domestic help), Mindy Kaling (Sex lives of college girls).
Representatives from the Channing Dungey-led WBTVG declined to comment.
The news comes as the Writers Guild of America has entered its fourth month of its strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over issues such as residuals, AI and streaming transparency.
The move is similar to lower-tier writer deals that were suspended during the first month of the strike in May, as studios immediately cut deals for writers who went on strike. The impact is now hitting this group of mega-producers as producers. While none of them had worked as writers, they were contractually obligated to continue working in their capacity as producers.
All six prolific producers are behind multiple shows and all have in-studio development projects they worked on. It’s important to note that the deals have been shelved and not canceled/dropped outright, as once the labor action is complete, Warners will need its top producers to ramp up writing and production immediately as the content pipeline continues to thin.
The suspension of the deal comes as the Hollywood studios and streamers that are part of the AMPTP are now in cost-cutting mode, as the writers’ strike continues well past the 100-day milestone. Across the entertainment spectrum, layoffs are starting to affect companies like Roku and others. There are also rumors that layoffs will follow at NBCUniversal.
