Television Writers Won The Strike — Studios Lost The Plot

Between May and August studios typically release their biggest projects to critical acclaim and audience renown. For television however, something’s been off about this summer’s titles.

Before this summer, “The Bear,” “The Boys,” “House of the Dragon,” and “Umbrella Academy” each would be considered fan favorites and critical darlings. Yet one by one, they’ve slipped from widespread praise to mixed responses at best and admonishment at worst. Such stark declines aren’t a tandem coincidence, but a symptom of creative work not being valued.

From May 2 to Sept. 27, 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike for higher wages and better treatment from studios. Although the WGA came out on top after nearly five months, the stoppage has done little to dissuade corporate greed triumphing art. 

Chicago restauranting drama “The Bear,” has been on a hot streak, nabbing 10 Emmys for its first season and is expected to garner more wins this year. Rather than switch to a weekly release to prolong discussion, Disney+ dumped all 10 episodes June 26 — something the streamer avoids for its most successful shows. 

According to Deadline, “The Bear” filmed its third and fourth seasons back-to-back in March. This daunting schedule would imply a confident outline for the series, but one that arguably wasn’t met.

Episodes like “Doors” retain the show’s stress-inducement while “Napkins” proves the series can still tug heartstrings, but between these moments, “The Bear” seems to be having an identity crisis. Episodes experiment with different filming and story techniques — one episode is a 24-minute argument in a room — but the rest stagnate with little character or plot progression.

The show filmed roughly 18 episodes starting in March, meaning writing would have occured before and after the strike. The middling third season is a consequence of shooting schedules not adapting to underbaked scripts.

Alex O’Keefe, a staff writer for the series, voiced as much frustration to the New York Post in the midst of the strike.

“We need to come together and co-determine the future of our industry, but what [studio executives] are saying is ‘get the hell out of our office,’” O’Keefe said.

“The Boys,” based on the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic series of the same name, has had a similar uphill battle. The series, which follows a group of specialists bent on eliminating corporate superheroes, has made its name elevating crude violence and humor with biting political satire and character work — but four seasons deep the show is spinning its wheels. 

Production wrapped prior to the strike but release was delayed to rework plots, showrunner Eric Kripke said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The result is a season that’s insecure of its themes, hamfisting dialogue to force its points and encroaching on self-parody. Motivations are recycled for the fourth season straight, and the overarching story progresses little until the final episode. The announcement of its next season being its last is a confirmation “The Boys” can’t be drawn out much further.

“House of the Dragon” won the Outstanding Drama Emmy last year, an award it’s unlikely to recoup. The “Game of Thrones” prequel premiered its second season June 16, but lacked the show’s previous intrigue and depth. 

Spanning eight episodes — each over an hour long — the promised dragon-filled action and gripping conflicts are abandoned for droll and repetitive discussions. If there was any hope the sloth pace would pay off, the finale left a rather unfulfilling aftertaste for its lack of followthrough.

With most of the production occurring in Europe, the show wasn’t initially affected by the strikes. However, some writers and showrunner Ryan Condal were relegated to non-creative capacities as WGA members, meaning no story adjustments could be made prior or during filming.

Elio M García Jr., contributing author of the novel “House of the Dragon” is based on, said in a post on Westeros.org the show’s true finale was cut as a consequence of studio oversight.

“A month before filming, after 8 months of writing, HBO told them to cut episodes,” García wrote. “Then the writer’s strike started three months later, so the writers couldn’t work during filming to organize things.”

Netflix’s former trailblazer “The Umbrella Academy” unfortunately didn’t conclude in a blaze of glory. With forgotten story beats and a shortened season, it’s the clearest example of studio reducing a show to a base form.

Premiering all six episodes Aug. 8, the oddball show centering on an estranged superhero family forwent setup for an underwhelming conclusion. Having ten episodes in prior seasons, the final entry omitted story and character to expedite a cheap finale.

Showrunner Steve Blackman confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter his initial four-season plan and the difficulties posed by a shortened episode count from Netflix. While his words attempt a positive spin, the show’s rotten reception reveals the truth — narrative costcutting.

With so many examples of well-tailored shows being taken out of creative hands, was the strike meaningless? Not necessarily. Writers gained ground on pay and worker protections, but those victories don’t mean executives are suddenly generous partners.

Even new tentpole shows, like “Star Wars” spinoff “The Acolyte” are facing the same brunt as the old guard. Big budget releases are unceremoniously canceled when the bare minimum doesn’t outperform.

For some of these shows, course correction is still possible. Each of them still displays aspects that made them originally standout. Yet if studio greed remains unbridled, TV’s best will surely strike-out.