Usually, the fall season brings dozens of new TV shows to the airwaves, but with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, the season looks like it may be a virtual dead zone, and that’s not only because no shows are currently shooting. Fully completed seasons are also sitting on the shelf, with many of them star-driven projects that need their talent front and center, selling them to get the viewership they need to succeed.
According to a report in THR, this includes already wrapped seasons of Feud, the Orphan Black spinoff Echoes at AMC+, Paramount’s Frasier sequel series and new star-driven prestige projects. This includes shows like Vince Vaughn’s Bad Monkey, Palm Royale with Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern, and The Curse starring Emma Stone. Even a show like Fargo, which should have a built-in audience, will likely find its latest season delayed. The new season stars Jon Hamm in his first dramatic series role as a lead since Mad Men, and FX will no doubt want Hamm to do loads of interviews to boost the ratings for one of their most prestigious properties.
That said, the tap hasn’t completely closed yet, with Hulu putting out the third season of Only Murders in the Building this August. One thing noted in the article is that shows that aren’t new will likely be the first to drop, with an insider noting that during the pandemic, formerly popular shows like Atlanta took a huge dip in ratings once they finally returned from an extended hiatus. In fact, during COVID, a lot of good shows, including Glow, wound up being cancelled due to constant delays, so hopefully, the strike won’t spell doom for any shows if it goes on too long.
How long do you think the strike will last? Let us know in the comments.