The writers’ strike came to an end last week after nearly five months, and once all the specifics are ironed out, work on scripts for television shows and movies can officially begin again. The writers managed to get assurances on pay raises, residuals from streaming, control of artificial intelligence, and more (you can read about that at this link), and they will be returning to work soon. The actors are still on strike, but the breakthrough with the writers could lead to a resolution of that labor movement as well. It will take a while before production gets ramped back up, and there will be notable gaps between seasons for many shows. And there is also the possibility that more shows could be cancelled in the coming months, in part as a result of the strikes.
Why the Cancellations?
Writers will start working on scripts again, but production will not fully ramp back up until the actors have resolved their demands. At that point, work on quite a number of television shows and movies will begin again which will result in scheduling problems. The studios only have so much capacity, and there are a lot of productions that have been in limbo the last few months. The networks and studios will have to make decisions on which shows and films get priority, and some will get squashed in the process. Amazon already blamed the cancellation of The Peripheral on delays from the strike (though there was more than just that going on), and I expect to see other shows fall victim to that as well.
The other reason for cancellations is purely spite. Networks and studios will likely be annoyed that the writers and actors are cutting into their profits (no matter how fair their requests may have been), and this presents an opportunity to take punitive action. Executives will blame it on scheduling or costs or creative differences, but the showrunners who have annoyed them the most could find their shows kicked to the curb. That could also extend to the development deals that were previously handed out. Many of those were suspended during the strike and now may present the opportunity to revisit those contracts. If a particular creative team has run afoul of the company it is working with (i.e. Christopher Nolan and Lisa Joy running up production costs at Amazon), there might be some re-negotiations that take place and that could lead to the cancellation of existing shows or projects that are in development.
The fact is that we appear to be close to the point of the Peak TV bubble bursting, and these strikes (for right or for wrong) may prove to be a couple of dominoes that help start the collapse that has been inevitable for some time. Scripted television has been expanding at an unsustainable rate for years, and the post-strike setting allows the opportunity to re-access and reset. Many productions have become far too expensive for the television market to support, and now the writers and actors will be taking just a bit more. (Not that paying the cast and crew is a bad thing, and this is certainly an opportunity for the entertainment industry to take stock of how top-heavy television and movie production has become.) But with television already near the bursting point, the repercussions will start to manifest themselves soon.
Which Shows Are in Danger?
Pretty much any show is fair game at this point, but I don’t expect big-name entries like Stranger Things, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings or Power, The House of the Dragon, or The Walking Dead spin-offs to suffer just yet. Still, these high-dollar productions may get reined in and possibly cut shorter than planned, and I believe we will see fewer and fewer of them going forward. In fact, the expansive list of Game of Thrones spin-offs will almost certainly get trimmed down, and TWD continuations may dry up after next year’s Rick & Michonne series seeing as viewership continues to dwindle for that franchise. Netflix still has not announced a third season of Shadow and Bone, and I consider that one very much On the Bubble at this point. Also, the eight-year plan that David Goyer has for Apple TV+’s Foundation seems unlikely, though that one has surprisingly cost less than you might expect.
One show in particular that I think could be in danger is Netflix’s The Sandman. That one has already been renewed for a second season, but production was halted due to the strikes. Scripts were completed and it did start production prior to the actors’ strike, but Neil Gaiman was not there as he joined the writers on the picket line in solidarity. It’s possible that could have annoyed Netflix execs, and this is an expensive series that the streamer seemed rather tentative about renewing in the first place despite strong viewership. It is not impossible that they could reverse the second season renewal, and if they do allow that to go forward, a third season will be very tenuous.
Other shows could be impacted as well, especially those that have experienced long delays between seasons like Outer Range (Prime Video), The Peacemaker (Max), and Hit Monkey (Hulu). It is too soon to tell at this point, and some of the cancellations may have been inevitable anyway with the bubble on the verge of bursting. Be sure to stay tuned to this site in the coming months because I believe the initial fallout will start to manifest itself over that time. And you can keep track of the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch Page.
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
