WGA strike: TV writers joke ‘pay your writers or we’ll spoil Succession’ at picket lines

Union members voted ‘unanimously’ to strike on Monday, coming into effect on Tuesday

Striking TV writers have joked that they’ll spoil the ending of HBO’s hit series Succession if they don’t receive a fair pay deal.

As of Tuesday (2 May), members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are on strike in the US after their 11,500 members voted “unanimously” for industrial action over pay and working conditions.

Many union members took to the picket lines outside studios and streamers in New York and Los Angeles on Tuesday, where they were joined and supported by a host of Hollywood stars.

A number of witty signs were shared on social media, with one through line emerging relating to the hotly debated final season of Succession.

One placard read: “Pay your writers or we’ll spoil Succession”, while another read: “Fair contract or we spoil Succession.”

In the same vein, one sign was emblazoned with the phrase: “Succession without writers is just The Apprentice. And look how that worked out.”

Succession is currently in the middle of its fourth and final season, with fans desperately trying to figure out how the critically acclaimed series will end.

Just four episodes of the season remain, meaning the HBO show will not be affected by the writers’ strikes. You can read The Independent’s review of this week’s episode.

The strikes are expected to have lasting impacts on the TV and film industry, with late-night shows – including Saturday Night Live – among the first programmes to come off air.

The last writers’ strike took place between 2007 and 2008 and lasted 100 days, during which nearly 25 per cent of primetime scripted programming was lost completely.

Among the series to have seasons cut short at the time were Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, Friday Night Lights, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, and The Simpsons.