A  looming strike deadline from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has Canadian producers weighing their short-term options.

The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are currently bargaining a new Minimum Basic Agreement, which is scheduled to expire today (May 1) at midnight if a deal is not reached.

WGA members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, following a strike authorization vote in April. A strike could begin as early as 12:01 a.m. PT on Tuesday (May 2), according to the WGA Contract 2023 website.

While a strike could potentially halt scripted development and production for any projects under WGA jurisdiction in the U.S., the fallout will also have a significant impact in Canada. In fact, it already has.

“Usually around this time of year we would have a handful of series and features prepping and shooting,” Arielle Boisvert, partner and EVP, production at Vancouver-based Brightlight Pictures, tells Playback Daily. “The potential strike has certainly slowed things down in production.”

Ivan Schneeberg, co-executive chairman of Boat Rocker Media and co-chairman of Boat Rocker Studios, says there has been a “paralysis within the buying marketplace” in the U.S. in the event that a short- or long-term strike puts a pause on active development.

The WGA last went on strike between Nov. 5, 2007 and Feb. 12, 2008, which saw approximately US$2.1 billion in lost output in California, and a loss of more than 37,000 jobs, according to a 2014 report from the Milken Institute.

The possibility of a strike comes at a time when Canada’s service production industry has boomed. Foreign location and service (FLS) production spend in Ontario hit more than $1.9 billion in 2021 and 2022, according to Ontario Creates. The Canadian Media Producers Association’s Profile 2021 reported a total $5.27 billion in FLS production volume between April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, stating it was an all-time high for Canada.

British Columbia accounted for 52% of FLS production volume in 2020-21 at $2.72 billion. Boisvert says the B.C. industry is “prepared” for the strike, with some “potentially even welcoming of some down time.” However, she says she expects “this could be a tough period for many.”

As a producer of both service and domestic productions, Brightlight is well-positioned to focus their resources into originals, according to Boisvert, who says their originals division “is as busy as ever with our internal development projects.”

Any projects that fall under the Writers Guild of Canada’s (WGC) jurisdiction will not be affected by the strike, though WGC executive director Victoria Shen has previously told Playback that its members will not accept struck work.

Brightlight’s SVP, originals Emily Alden says a potential strike will “create an opportunity to present our homegrown projects and talent as demand for English-language content will certainly continue.”

On the flip side, opportunities to produce for U.S. studios and platforms may be short-lived.

“A strike is an anomaly,” says Toronto and L.A.-based Blink49 Studios COO Jeff Lynas. “[Canadian producers] will benefit, but that’ll be a kind of a short-term benefit. Once the WGA and [the AMPTP] work out their deal, then that opportunity goes away.”

Schneeberg says Boat Rocker, which operates in both Canada and the U.S., has been actively developing projects with Canadian writers, and also sees opportunity for their unscripted division, which does not fall under WGA jurisdiction.

Lynas says ready-made Cancon will also stand to benefit from a strike in terms of distribution deals to U.S. platforms and broadcasters. As an example, the 2007-08 writers strike saw CBS acquire CTV series Flashpoint for its fall broadcast season. He says there are also opportunities for indie Canadian series looking for a U.S. buyer to complete financing.

A strike has not been called as of press time. However, the WGA issued strike rules to members on Thursday, which call for the ending of all writing work, development and negotiations with struck companies.

With files from Victoria Ahearn

Image: Unsplash