Hollywood actors strike: What it means for your favorite shows and movies

The American actors union SAG-AFTRA, representing 16,000 TV and movie actors, has announced a walkout for the first time in 43 years. According to the New York Times, this is bringing the $134 billion American movie and TV industry to a halt.

To make the consequences even more dramatic, the actors’ strike collides with the screenwriters’ strike. This is the first time both unions have refused to work at the same time since the 1960s, when Ronald Reagan was the head of the actors union.

Announcing the strike, the comedic actress turned union president Fran Drescher said: “I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us… How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting… We are being victimized by a very greedy enterprise.”

Drescher said in a press conference that the actors are being taken advantage of because of a change in Hollywood’s business model. This has to do with the streaming revolution and new business model created by platforms like Netflix or Disney+.

Actors are also afraid technology could be used to create digital replicas of their likenesses or alter their performances without them being paid, according to the New York Times. A similar scenario was depicted in the opening episode of the dystopian show ‘Black Mirror,’ in which an AI-generated Salma Hayek was recreating the life of a regular woman.

Image: ‘Joan is Awful,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ Netflix Trailer

Actor Matt Damon told Variety that the strike was “really about working actors.” “It’s $26,000 to qualify for health coverage, and a lot of people are on the margins, and residual payments are getting them across that threshold. This is real life and death stuff. Hopefully we get to a resolution quickly. No one wants a work stoppage, but we’ve got to get a fair deal.”

In a news release, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers said they had offered “historic” contract improvements for actors and that the move to strike “will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”

After the strike was announced, the union set out the rules. Actors cannot appear on camera, offer their voice to shows, or promote their projects. That means also being unable to attend Comic-Con, film festivals or movie premiers. No award shows either.

The New York Times reports that while the screenwriters’ strike has left viewers without late-night shows like ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!,’ the fact that actors are walking off their jobs will greatly exacerbate its consequences on the fall TV lineup.

Image: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels

Unless there is an immediate resolution, the NYT says the “fall television lineup is almost certain to be affected.” According to the American daily, that means that instead of new episodes of shows like ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ network shows will be replaced by a combination of reality TV, game shows and reruns.

On Wednesday, before the strike was confirmed, Fox announced its fall lineup, as reported by Variety. The biggest shows are game shows and reality TV like ‘Kitchen Nightmares,’ ‘The Masked Singer,’ ‘Lego Masters,’ and ‘Name that Tune.’ The only scripted show appears to be a two-episode preview of the animated show called ‘Krapopolis.’

Image: KRAPOPOLIS trailer, Blockchain Creative Labs / Youtube

Variety reports that the hit HBO ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ will continue filming in the UK. Its local union said that’s because the HBO series cast is composed mostly of British actors and any performer joining the walkout can be dismissed in the UK. This shows that a lot of entertainment production could shift outside of the US, so expect a lot more foreign shows!

You’ll also be about to watch other popular shows that have already finished filming. According to Variety, that includes the mega-expensive Amazon show ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,’ which was filming without screenwriters and just wrapped before the actor's strike

The BBC reports that huge films currently under production, such as the sequels to ‘Avatar’ and ‘Gladiator,’ will most likely be affected by the strike. Basically, if an American film or TV show is being shot with unionized actors, it’s paralyzed from July 14 until the strike ends.

Those ‘Barbie’ pink carpets with actors dressing as toys to promote the film are also done for now. On the night that the strike was called, the cast of the much-hyped Christopher Nolan film ‘Oppenheimer’ even walked away from the film’s premier in London.

Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO/Max, estimated that the impacts would begin to be felt on his platform in mid-2024. “It’s hard to say because it all depends on how long this goes on… At least through the end of 2023, we’re OK. And then into ’24 it starts to get dicier,” he told Variety.