Netflix Shows Impacted By WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes

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strikes impacting netflix shows movies

Pictured: The Night Agent, The Sandman, Stranger Things, Cobra Kai

Hollywood has effectively been shut down in 2023, beginning with the WGA strike beginning in May 2023 and now joined by the SAG-AFTRA union starting in July 2023. Netflix is among the companies that have failed to reach new agreements, and as a result, its upcoming slate of titles is hugely impacted. 

Please note this is not an exhaustive list, but all the titles we publicly know have been impacted by the strike. In reality, any title that was in early development, pre-production, or production is now on pause for the foreseeable future.

Big Mouth (Final Season)

It was reported by Variety that the writers of the eighth and final season of Big Mouth were six weeks into writing before strike action drove everything to a grinding halt. Without the delay, the writing would have been finished by August 2023.

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If strike action lasts until August, then the writing will be behind by at least three months, which means writing picks back up where it left off by early September, then the writing may not end until November/December 2023.

This will push the release date of the eighth season significantly and potentially into early 2025.

Cobra Kai (Season 6)

Production had begun on the sixth season of Cobra Kai, however, everything came to a grinding halt once it was confirmed that it was “pencils down” in the writing room.

Jon Hurwitz, one of the co-creators, executive producers, and writers of the series, tweeted his and the crew’s support for the WGA Strike. Once a deal is in place, production will resume on the series.

Emily in Paris (Season 4)

emily in paris season 3 netflix december 2022

Picture: Marie Etchegoyen/Netflix

Despite Variety reporting in 2022 that seasons 3 and 4 would be filmed back-to-back, that hasn’t been the case and instead, it was clarified that filming was due to start in late summer or early Fall 2023 but has now been pushed back.

The Night Agent (Season 2)

One of the biggest new show launches of 2023 for Netflix has been The Night Agent, which was quickly picked up by Netflix for a second season. The original plan, before the WGA strike kicked off, was to begin filming in August 2023. That’s now been pushed back significantly given that no scripts have been turned in and even if they were, filming could not now start without talent.

The Sandman (Season 2)

One of the biggest supporters of the ongoing WGA writer’s strike has been Neil Gaiman, the creator of the Sandman comic and one of the executive producers of the Netflix adaptation.

In April, Gaiman provided an update to fans on what stage production was at for the second season, revealing that sets had been constructed, and a shooting schedule was in place.

When asked if the strike action will delay the series, Gaiman gave an open and honest answer, revealing that it entirely depends on the length of the strike, and if rewrites of the script are required he will not authorize Netflix to use non-Union writers to step in and take over;

Whether or not any of Sandman is delayed depends on how long the strike goes. There won’t be scab scripts on Sandman

Filming on the series did actually get underway in June 2023 (seemingly against Gaiman’s wishes) but eventually came to a halt in July the day after a strike with SAG-AFTRA was called.

Stranger Things (Season 5)

Filming for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things was due to get underway this summer but unlike some shows that did go ahead without the writers’ involvement, that wasn’t the case here.

On May 6th, the Duffer Brothers wrote on Twitter that filming would only begin when a resolution with the WGA would come about and now SAG-AFTRA makes any filming start for the foreseeable inconceivable.

Netflix France made a blunder in late May, stating that filming did get underway, which the Stranger Things Writers quickly corrected them on.

That 90s Show (Season 2)

that 90s show netflix january 2023

Picture: Netflix

Season 2 of That 90s Show was among the first titles to have its filming canceled despite being due to get underway by the end of May 2023. Filming would’ve been going on all throughout the summer and into September 2023 but because of the WGA strike, all filming dates were scrapped. This is due to the nature of how filming works on a sitcom like this which is filmed in front of a live audience and requires writers on set.

Outer Banks (Season 4)

outer banks season 4 production schedule

Picture: Netflix

Renewed ahead of season 3 premiering earlier this year, it seems to be the case that scripts were put in ahead of the WGA strike, which allowed it to get into production in early summer. However, with SAG-AFTRA beginning its strike, production was immediately halted.

Now to round out the list, here are all the other shows that the ongoing strikes have impacted:

  • Little Sky – A new comedy pilot hoping to get a series release was filmed in secret in June 2023 but was stopped midway through production.
  • Shad0w and Bone – The LA Times reported that the ongoing strikes would mean that the decision on a season 3 renewal of the show would be pushed down the road.
  • The Upshaws (Season 4) – Production had been halted early on for the fourth season of The Upshaws. According to Wanda Sykes, 10 out of the 12 episodes for the season were filmed and set to release in August 2023.
  • Unstable – A writer’s room had been assembled for season 2 of this Rob Lowe comedy, but according to Deadline was shutdown.
  • Virgin River (Season 6) – It had been suggested that the new season of Virgin River would get into production in summer 2023 but that’s no longer the case.
  • Zero Day – Production did begin on Zero Day but was shut down in early June 2023, and it’s unclear when it’ll pick back up again.

For more movies and series that have been delayed by the two respective strikes, including titles not with Netflix, Collider and Deadline have done a pretty good job at compiling titles.

Is there any other major Netflix title we’ve not listed below? Email me at [email protected] or on Twitter @kasey__moore.

Jacob Robinson contributed to this report.