Here's what to expect now that the actors strike is over
After 118 days, the SAG-AFTRA strike ended Thursday at 12:01 a.m.
118 days ago, we published a guide detailing what the start of the actors strike means for fans. Now, at long last we get to write about what the end of the strike means for all your favorite TV shows, movies, and chicken-based interview segments. Whew… it’s been a long four months.
Last night, SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP, allowing actors to put down their pickets at 12:01 a.m. this morning. “We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke everywhere!Ty sag aftra members for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal!” wrote guild president Fran Drescher in a social media statement.
Actors and fans also took to social media to celebrate the deal and promote their work and upcoming films for the first time since the strike began. We’ll see a lot more of that in the coming weeks and months. Here’s a timeline of what to expect now that the SAG-AFTRA strike is over:
Actors can immediately begin to promote their work
The press tours for upcoming films like Mean Girls and The Iron Claw have already started, via social media. After long months of mostly refraining from promoting upcoming projects (or dressing up as old ones), actors were eager to drop trailers and other excited statements about their work. Now that the strike is over, expect a flood of Hot Ones showings, lie detector interviews, SNL and other talk show appearances, steamy red carpet moments, and more. Especially as award season approaches, expect big pushes from contenders like Poor Things, May December, and Maestro, and well as films with big names attached like Wonka, Napoleon, and Ferrari.
Filming will start back up
With a few extra weeks to finish scripts since the writers strike ended at the end of September, a number of productions should be able to start back up almost immediately. Showrunners for The White Lotus and The Last Of Us have both said they were ready and “raring to go” on their next seasons, while Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson gave a resounding “Well, yes” (in GIF form) when asked when season three the show would begin filming. This is also great news for films like Wicked and Beetlejuice 2 which had just days left to go when the strike was called. Hopefully, with the quick turnaround, release schedules for those productions won’t be impacted too highly.
Premieres will still be pushed back
Sorry, Timothée and Zendaya fans. Films with premieres that were delayed due to the strike—i.e. Dune: Part Two and Challengers—won’t magically start selling tickets tomorrow. You can expect a lot more actor-driven promo, though!
Network television will start to come back
After the 2007-2008 writers strike, shows like 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother took about six to eight weeks to return to air. With some scripts already in the hopper, we can expect this year’s bounce-back to follow a similar timeline. Network shows like Abbott Elementary will likely reappear early to mid-January, on a regular mid-season schedule (if not sooner). Bigger-budget dramas and comedies will take a little longer. Max, for example, has already pushed premieres for The White Lotus season three, Euphoria season three, and It prequel Welcome To Derry back to 2025.