Author George R.R. Martin has revealed in a new blog post that the writers’ room on the “Game of Thrones” spin-off “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” has shut down for the duration of the Writers Guild of America strike.
“Ira Parker and his incredible staff of young talents are on the picket lines,” Martin said.
Meanwhile, filming is underway on the second season of “House of the Dragon” in London and Wales.
“The scripts for the eight S2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began,” he continued. “Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc. There will be no further revisions. The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast and crew… and of course the dragons.”
Additionally, he noted that the second season of “Dark Winds” wrapped several months ago with post-production already completed on five of the six episodes. The series is expected to air this summer on AMC. No decision on the third season will be made until after the strike.
Martin also offered an update on his “Wild Cards” adaptation, which has been passed on by Peacock and will try to be placed elsewhere after the strike is over.
In addition to the production updates, the author offered his “full and complete and unequivocal support” for the WGA, which is on strike for the first time since November 2007 after the group was unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before a May 1 contract expiration.
The strike involves a long list of concerns that the writers want Hollywood studios to address, from the low pay involved in writing streaming series to reining in “mini-rooms” used to skirt contractual pay practices to addressing the use of artificial intelligence.
“Maybe the AMPTP members will come to their senses tomorrow and offer some meaningful concessions, and the whole thing can be wrapped up next week. I would not bet the ranch on that, however,” he added. “I have been through several of these since I first started writing for television and film in 1986. The 1988 strike, the first I was a part of, lasted 22 weeks, the longest in Hollywood history. The 2007-2008 strike, the most recent, went for 100 days. This one may go longer. The issues are more important, imnsho, and I have never seen the Guild so united as it is now.”
He added that he is “very heartened” by the support the WGA has received from the Teamsters and the other unions as well as individual SAG and DGA members.
“I hope we will have the support of all of you reading them as well: the viewers, the fans, the people we are making these shows for,” he concluded. “It could be a long fight, but with you on our side, we cannot lose.”
For all of TheWrap’s WGA Strike coverage, click here.
