Plucky WGA picket line overcomes Evil (the show)
As the Writer Guild Of America’s ongoing strike heads toward the end of its first week, the list of shows (and, in the case of the MCU’s Blade, one perpetually unlucky movie) that are being affected by the work stoppages are steadily continuing to accumulate. And not just because they don’t have anybody to write them right now—although that’s obviously become an immediate problems for the late-night shows and Saturday Night Live—but because of picketing by WGA supporters, which have already forced multiple series to lose days of shooting as participants are blocked (physically, or ethically) from crossing the picket line. Productions that are filming in Los Angeles and especially New York—i.e., some of the main places where the writers is—are obviously more susceptible to this tactic than others, something the WGA appeared to demonstrate yesterday, when a multi-hour picket line, comprised of as few as three people, managed to shut down production on Paramount+’s Evil for the day.
Besides being a demonstration of top-notch circle-walking stamina—with the picketers reportedly going until producers finally acknowledged they weren’t going to get anything done for the day at 1 a.m.—the successful picket was also a reminder of the forces of union solidarity at work in the current strike; according to TV writer Starlee Kine, crew members (who are largely members of the International Alliance Of Theatrical Stage Employees) refused to cross the picket line, instead waiting across the street from the show’s studio. Strike captain Warren Leight (whose day job has included showrunning duties on various Law And Order series) identified Search Party’s Kine, Daily Show writer Joseph Opio, and former Kimmel writer Jonathan Bines as the three picketers who reportedly marched for seven hours to keep the line going.
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Meanwhile, and more grimly, news continues to break about other shows—often shows that film in distant locales, where signs are scarce and slogans in short supply—continuing to shoot through the strike. That includes Disney+’s Andor (which suggests that some of the people at Disney have not actually watched Andor), which, per our colleagues at io9, is continuing to film this week. Albeit, reportedly without the on-set presence of showrunner Tony Gilroy, one of several showrunners who are now in an awkward position of being, like, half on-strike from their writer-producer duties. Two days ago, THR got its hands on memos from both Warner Bros. and Disney to their showrunners, with the latter explicitly telling writer-producers they’re expected to perform certain duties “even if the WGA attempts to fine you for performing such services during the strike.” That includes certain writer-producer-blending jobs like making small alterations to lines or cutting dialogue for time, which the WGA’s strike provisions specifically prohibit.
Evil is currently shooting its fourth season.
Source: The A.V. Club
