Why SNL Is Shutting Down But House Of The Dragon Isn't Amidst Writers Strike
The strike from the Writers Guild of America that has been looming over the entertainment industry for months has begun, which means that some shows will have to stop production altogether. Saturday Night Live is one such show, but House of the Dragon fans don’t have to count on the strike delaying Season 2 of the Game of Thrones spinoff. Even though the fantasy drama won’t be back for some time, the writers strike doesn’t mean an extra postponement.
What’s Happening With Saturday Night Live
The timeline of the WGA writers strike goes back to February of this year, and TV shows like Night Court with its early renewal and La Brea with its surprise Season 3 renewal could start work on their new seasons without a break. With Saturday Night Live writing sketches over the week between episodes, there was no way to plan ahead to get Pete Davidson’s hosting gig (which had longtime SNL star Kenan Thompson excited) ready for broadcast before the strike started on May 2.
Just a day after the writers strike began, NBC announced that SNL will air repeats until further notice, beginning on Saturday, May 6. (Repeats can also be streamed via Peacock subscription.) There’s no news as to whether Pete Davidson and planned musical guest Lil Uzi Vert will be rescheduled once production either restarts on Season 48 or begins on Season 49. SNL coming to an immediate halt isn’t a surprise due to the weekly nature of the writing, but what about scripted comedies and dramas?
What’s Happening With House Of The Dragon
Production on Season 2 of House of the Dragon began back in April, complete with a list of characters who will be returning for the second season. With the show already not expected to return until summer of 2024, potential delays due to the stalemate between the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers would have been bad news for fans. According to a source cited by Variety, however, filming for Season 2 won’t be affected as the scripts have all been finished already.
Given that the strike would apply to WGA members working internationally, unfinished scripts likely would have meant an unfinished Season 2 for longer than expected. The strike presumably does mean that writers rooms for other upcoming Game of Thrones TV shows and spinoffs can’t move forward and rewrites can’t happen for House of the Dragon, but the Targaryen origin story series isn’t shutting down. Season 2 is already expected to be shorter than Season 1, although that’s not necessarily worrying news for fans.
While we know what the immediate future holds for stalled production on SNL and continued production on House of the Dragon, there are still questions about the future of scripted entertainment. Notably, the strike does not apply to WWE writers who are not members of WGA, according to CEO Nick Khan in an update about the wrestling world.
For now, we can only wait on further developments of the writers strike and how many other shows will be affected by stalled production.
