AMC cuts a separate deal to keep filming Walking Dead and Interview With The Vampire

Lured in by the siren song that is Norman Reedus shooting a makeup-slathered stunt performer in the head with a crossbow for the 900th time, AMC has apparently carved out a small piece of a separate piece with currently striking actors union SAG-AFTRA. Deadline reports that the network has agreed to terms to secure interim agreements with SAG-AFTRA to allow filming to proceed on three of its newer shows: Walking Dead spinoffs Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live, plus Anne Rice adaptation Interview With The Vampire.

And while SAG-AFTRA’s willingness to hand out these kinds of agreements has been controversial at certain points over the past weeks, the union has asserted repeatedly that this sort of thing has been at least part of the goal the whole time: Use studios’ need for new TV in order to bring them to the table, either as a group, or in pieces, so that they can be pushed to agree to the unions’ terms in exchange for permission to film. (Because, presumably, AMC would like to get another season of the critically acclaimed Interview going before they have to go around casting another Claudia.) According to Deadline, AMC has confirmed the existence of the interim agreements, but hasn’t discussed their terms.

It’s worth noting that AMC is not a member of the Alliance Of Motion Picture And Television Producers, the industry entity that SAG-AFTRA is negotiating its new contract with. (Although it is an “authorized company,” which basically means it can use whatever contract terms the AMPTP ends up hammering out for itself.) Nevertheless, the Walking Dead properties are easily the biggest-name projects to date to cut a deal via one of these interim contracts, which require that the production in question adhere to the union’s most recent proposals to the studios. And while this agreement only applies to three shows, it’s three very prominent shows, which AMC now gets to roll out much sooner, while the AMPTP members themselves are still cut off from the source—which must, presumably, rankle quite a bit.