HBO's second season of House of the Dragon faced scrutiny for continuing production work in the U.K. during the Writers Guild of America strike.
The first strike in 15 years started on Tuesday after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the WGA failed to come to an agreement on contract negotiations Monday night.
Production on late-night television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show, which are written daily, have stopped immediately.
Writers’ Guild of Great Britain asked U.K. members, who are also WGA members, to stop all work on shows in conjunction with the WGA strike in the U.S.
Preparing for the imminent strike, some U.K. writers reportedly fast-tracked submitting completed scripts for House of Dragon's second season to U.S. employers before the PST midnight deadline to ensure the show will not go on hiatus.
However, WGA writers working in the U.K. will not be able to report to work under the guidelines of the strike rules, which poses a problem.
How will production on television shows and movies continue without working writers on set?
That is the question writer Caroline Renard asked in response to Variety's reporting of Dragon's production status.
Renard tweeted:
"But they’ll be no writer on set so good luck with that if you think that’s all we do."
\u201cBut they\u2019ll be no writer on set so good luck with that if you think that\u2019s all we do.\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
Renard continued calling out the ignorance by running off a list of responsibilities writers have after completing scripts on shows and films.
“Whose the writer producer on set? Whose showrunning? Hmmm?"
"Scripts are done. Okay. But rewrites literally happen. Line changes. Alt line changes."
"Whose gonna watch dailies and cuts? Approval on costumes. Tone meeting. Once again proving you guys have no idea what we do!”
\u201cWhose the writer producer on set? Whose showrunning? Hmmm? Scripts are done. Okay. But rewrites literally happen. Line changes. Alt line changes. Whose gonna watch dailies and cuts? Approval on costumes. Tone meeting. Once again proving you guys have no idea what we do!\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
When someone asked Renard if productions are forced to film scripts as written and are prohibited from changing lines or improving scenes during a strike, she responded:
"Literally no. Scripts are being rewritten all the time."
"We have production drafts. We have ADR. Writing doesn’t just stop when a draft is turned in."
Others weighed in with their concerns.
\u201c@carolinerenard_ @darkcornercast @lizohanesian This could get super messy. At what point is there an issue where someone is changing and adding lines and then considers themselves deserving of a co-writing credit?\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ Pretty wild to see in real time how little is known and understood as to what writers do in totality. SMH and by ppl that should definitely know what a writers job entails\u2026 this shit is sad. SMH I fully support this strike & beyond. \ud83e\udd1d\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ Who is showrunning?!?\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ That very same network has spent the last several weeks living off the buzz of Succession, a show that has such high quality in large part because they have writers on set. https://t.co/4Yrcu8Zo2F\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ Some productions rewrite themselves a lot. That new Ben Stiller/Matt Damon movie, Air, is one example where they reworked a lot while filming.\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
Some people mentioned the consequences of past shows continuing production under similar circumstances.
\u201c@carolinerenard_ Everyone remembers those awful seasons in your favorite shows during the last strike. Those were from this same situation, I think. Studios thinking they can make art without the artist \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ Last time this happened we got Quantim of Solace. And it was horrendous lmao. They really think you can start filming without writers on deck lmao\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ Its Quantum Solace all over again. They're about to make Game of Thrones Season 8 look like a masterpiece. \ud83d\ude12\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ It gonna mess they didn\u2019t see what happened to heros season 2 for doing exactly same thing end up get canceled\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
People continued showing their support for striking writers.
\u201c@carolinerenard_ learning so much from you! following!\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
\u201c@carolinerenard_ @therealdiamonde As if the project isn\u2019t a living thing subject to all sorts of changes that MUST consider continuity. \nThis is an art and it\u2019s not being respected.\u201d— Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard (@Caroline \u201cWGA Captain\u201d Renard) 1683047233
Unlike the 10-episode first season of House of the Dragon, which is the first spinoff of Game of Thrones, the second season will have only eight episodes.
Some speculated the shorter season was due to Warner Bros. Discovery’s cost-cutting measures, while sources close to production claimed it was story-driven.
The WGA is seeking better compensation, the hiring of more writers per show, and better residual payments on shows that become a major hit.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) represents eight major studios: Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount, and Sony.
With no further discussions scheduled between AMPTP and WGA, who work in film, TV, animation, and fiction podcasts, it is unknown how long writers will be without pay or how many shows will be delayed or ultimately canceled as a result of the ongoing strike.
