The Hollywood writers’ strike entered its second week Monday as both sides appeared ready to settle in for a prolonged work-stoppage.
A day after the MTV Movie & TV Awards were picketed, WGA members on both coasts picketed outside studios once again — with more clever signs.
The continuation of the strike came as more TV and film productions went on hold. Over the weekend, “Stranger Things” co-creators and co-showrunners Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, known as the Duffer Brothers, said the final season of the hit Netflix series would be delayed because of the strike.
Several studios are canceling shows and suspending overall deals with some writers and producers, according to Deadline. However, those suspended contracts are likely to be extended by the amount of time the strike lasts in certain instances.
In a separate report, some studios have publicly announced they are prepared for a lengthy strike with a cache of unreleased shows and movies “ready to go.”
Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish said Monday that had been preparing for the strike for a long time, according to Deadline.
“Now, obviously, we have been planning for that and we have many levers to pull and that will allow us to manage though a writers’ strike even for an extended duration. And just so you understand, in terms of levers, we have a lot in the can, produced and ready to go. Add to that, we have a broad range of reality and unscripted programming that’s not affected by the strike, and also sports that’s not affected by the strike.”
He added that the company could use its TV and film library to fill its broadcast and cable schedules.