Earlier this week, the Writers Guild of America voted to go on strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) fell through. Because the WGA represents TV and film writers in Hollywood, most shows and films have halted production entirely in a move of solidarity with the organisation.
Despite the strike, two big shows — Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and HBO Max’s House of the Dragon — are moving forward with production, albeit without their writers or showrunners (multihyphenate writer-producers) getting involved. Another of those shows is Disney+’s Andor; according to a late Friday report from Variety, the show’s second season is resuming production as the strike plays out. Like with Rings and Dragon, that season’s scripts were finished some time ago before the strike, since it got a two-season order back when it was first announced. Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy is said to not be on set and has ceased writing for the show, but as he’s also an executive producer, he’s contributing to non-writing elements such casting and musical scoring.
It’s worth noting that this news came shortly after the Hollywood Reporter acquired a memo from Disney (dated May 3, two days after the strike’s start) that was sent out to showrunners for its various series. In it, the corporation told those showrunners they were “not excused from performing your duties as a showrunner and/or producer on your series as a result of the WGA strike.” That Disney memo further outlined various duties showrunners are “asked” to continue doing — like cutting for time and making line adjustments — that the WGA asked its multihyphenate members to not do at this time. The company’s effectively told them to do their full jobs, despite the fact that doing so would surely incur fines from the WGA for being a scab.
At time of writing, Gilroy has yet to issue a statement on the strike since it was was called. Many showrunners are also WGA members, which potentially puts him in an uncomfortable position, as the strike seems like it’ll go on for some time. The irony of a show like this being forced to continue working is definitely not lost, and it further shows how ridiculous it is that these corporations aren’t willing to increase guild compensation or agree to any of the other perfectly reasonable demands the WGA have made.
At time of writing, Andor’s second season is still slated to release on Disney+ in August 2024.