WGA Strike Has Shut Down All On-Location Scripted TV Filming in LA

Mason Bissada
·2 min read

The ongoing Writers Guild Strike has brought on-location scripted television filming in Los Angeles to a complete stop, according to new data compiled by FilmLA, the official film permit office for the city and county.

“In a normal week at this time of year, there would be dozens of scripted television projects in production. By contrast, we have no scripted TV series with permits to film this week,” FilmLA spokesperson Philip Sokoloski said.

The Weekly count for all feature films and television projects being filmed in LA is down 54.5% compared to the same period last year, from 268 projects in 2022 to just 122 in the week ending June 4, according to FilmLA.

“These are the categories into which all scripted projects fall, though not all production within these categories is affected by the labor action,” Sokoloski said. “Reality TV, as one example, still appears in these counts in addition to non-union independent films.”

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Nine shows attempted to continue filming after the strike began on May 2, but that figure has dwindled every week since then.

In its ongoing struggle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the WGA is attempting to secure higher pay for writers, along with requirements for minimum staffing and duration of employment. It also requested contingencies limiting the use of so-called artificial intelligence to create scripts. The AMPTP rejected these requests without a counteroffer, leading to a breakdown of talks last month.

Along with the ongoing strike, studios are also growing wary over the potential of a simultaneous strike by SAG-AFTRA, which on Wednesday began its negotiations with the AMPTP ahead of the June 30 expiration date on its current contract. Over 63,000 SAG-AFTRA members voted to authorize the guild’s leadership to order a strike if a deal isn’t made, and such a strike would effectively shut down all remaining productions that are still operating without writers.

For all of TheWrap’s WGA strike coverage, click here.

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