Hollywood writers strike leads to temporary cancellation of every late night US talk show
No new episodes will go live until an agreement is reached
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Late night shows in America have been pulled off the air due to the Hollywood writers strike.
After months of negotiation over pay, the union, representing 11,500 writers of film, television and other entertainment forms, will take action from Tuesday (2 May).
This means talk show hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, will not be recording episodes of their shows, which will go dark until an agreement is reached.
Guests whose appearances have been cancelled include Melissa McCarthy, Will Poulter and Barry star Anthony Carrigan for Kimmel, while Fallon was set to welcome Ken Jeong, Jennifer Lopez and Elle Fanning.
Meanwhile, Colbert would have interviewed Citadel star Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Michael J Fox and Shonda Rhimes.
While unconfirmed, networks are expected to show repeats of past Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, The Daily Show and Late Night broadcasts in place of a new episode.
Meyers supported writers decision to strike on Monday (1 May), stating: “I love writing. I love writing for TV. I love writing this show. I love that we get to come in with an idea for what we want to do every day and we get to work on it all afternoon and then I have the pleasure of coming out here.
“No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it’s a very reasonable demand that’s being set out by the guild. And I support those demands.”
Speaking at the Met Gala on Monday (1 May), Fallon told Variety: “I wouldn’t have a show if it wasn’t for my writers, and I support them all the way.”
This is the first writers’ strike, and the first Hollywood strike of any kind, in 15 years.
If the strike continues into the weekend, weekly sketch show Saturday Night Live, which is due to be hosted by Pete Davidson, will not proceed as normal.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments