After 3 weeks of negotiations, SAG-AFTRA (the actors' union) went on strike, and for the 150,000 or so people that SAG represents, the effect is immediate. They are prohibited from appearing on-camera, doing behind-the-scenes work, or doing promotions for projects covered by their contracts. This effectively shuts down production of American movies, TV shows, and some online content across the globe. If you live for red carpet photos and glamorous celebrities arriving at movie premieres, you’re out of luck until the strike ends. SAG members can’t show up for awards shows, film festivals, TV talk shows, radio interviews, podcasts, personal appearances, or even post on social media if the goal is the promotion of contracted work. Most films scheduled for release this summer will open as planned, but things get murkier as you look further out. Production on big ticket projects like Deadpool 3, the sequel to Gladiator, and Ghostbusters 4 stopped when the strike was called, and there haven’t been many other productions shooting since May when the writers walked out. So, it seems extremely likely that many release dates will be pushed back and projects canceled, especially as we move past 2023. Broadcast journalists, talk show hosts, soap opera stars, and some reality stars are members of SAG-AFTRA, but work under different contracts than actors, so most of their work is likely to be unaffected. Streaming services are likely to run out of new scripted content this fall, too. The 75th annual Emmy Awards show is scheduled for September 18, but it remains to be seen whether it will happen on that date.
