‘TV’s Top 5’ Goes Into the Writers Guild’s Strike Zone

Lesley Goldberg
·3 min read

Welcome to the 212th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.

Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).

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Here’s how the episode plays out:

1. Headlines

911 and 911: Lone Star, FBoy Island, Dancing With the Stars, Sweet Tooth, Monster, The Morning Show, Sydney (and Kyle) Chandler, The Diplomat and Fernando Valenzuela lead the week’s non-strike TV headlines.

2. WGA on Strike

It’s official, the Writers Guild is officially on strike for the first time in 15 years. The last strike, in 2007-08, lasted 100 days and focused on “The Internet” when streaming was in its infancy and Netflix was still a DVD by mail company. This time, the key points are residuals, preserving the writers room and ending the practice of so-called mini-rooms, viewership transparency — writers want ratings data and not as I call it an algebraic equation! — as well as protections regarding AI and span protections. This segment breaks down the key issues at play between writers and the studios.

3. Strike Impact

Scripted broadcast series, late night TV, daytime talk shows, SNL and the MTV Awards have already been impacted by writers putting their pencils down. This segment explores the similarities and differences between now and the last WGA strike as well as the ways this work stoppage is kinda like the start of COVID.

4. Strike Zone: Voices From the Picket Line

This week, we’re launching a new segment timed to the labor unrest called Strike Zone in which Lesley goes out to the picket lines and interviews WGA members and showrunners about the central issues at play as the guild seeks a new Minimum Basic Agreement. We’ve got four short interviews this week that paint a detailed picture about some of the core issues and that reflect the sentiment among the rank and file. The first interview is with writer Yvette Foy (First Wives Club, Raising Dion) who speaks about how mini-rooms have impacted her and her fears of how studios and streamers will use artificial intelligence. I also caught up with Friend of the 5 Brett Goldstein (aka Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent) and his fellow Shrinking writer/exec producer Zack Bornstein (who also happens to be a WGA strike captain). Former TV’s Top 5 guests Eliza Clark (Y: The Last Man) and Stephen Falk (Hello Tomorrow, You’re the Worst) offer their thoughts on the existential crisis the WGA is facing right now and how the industry’s consolidation and lack of viewership transparency is creating a confusing and uneven playing field.

If you’re a showrunner or a studio/streaming executive who would like to join us for a Strike Zone conversation, please email us at TVsTop5@thr.com. Or you can find me at @Snoodit on Twitter, where my DMs are open.

5. Critic’s Corner

As usual, every episode ends with Dan’s thoughts on what to watch (or skip) this weekend. In this episode, he weighs in on Peacock’s Bupkis, Apple’s Silo, Hulu’s Taste the Nation, FX’s Class of ’09 and Queen Charlotte.

Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or Mailbag questions you’d like addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.

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