Nothing new on Netflix: Is the writers' strike to blame?

Netflix lovers are expressing morose sentiments towards the persistent flow of aged shows on their preferred streaming service. People have taken to social media platforms like X to vent their frustrations. We’ve highlighted a few such examples below.

New releases of top shows on Netflix have been delayed. Admired shows like ‘The Stranger Things Season 5’, ‘Wednesday Season 2’, ‘Virgin River Season 5’ and many more will not stream before 2024. Even Cobra Kai announced that they closed their writers’ room for the season 6 release. John Hurwitz tweeted ‘no writers on set’.

Recent reports also show that ‘Big Mouth’ eighth and final season was halted due to the strike and postponed until 2025. That is the reason we could only find old shows on ‘the top 10 list of movies and TV shows’ on Netflix.

Now the big question here is whether the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strike to blame? Well, it most likely is.

The motive behind the 148-Day strike

But before we delve into the efficacy of the writers’ bash on studios, let us know what was the motive of the 148 days long strike. With the termination of the MBA (Minimum Basic Agreement) on 1st May, 23, the WGA (Writer’s Guild Association) took the picket lines demanding some reforms or to roll back the new contract.

Soon after, SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) accompanied the screenwriters on 14th July. The same strike took place back in 1960 when Ronald Reagan led the way. The 2023 clash took place between WGA and AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) which serves big studios like Walt Disney and Netflix. The conflict arose over a few labor controversies:

1) The striking Hollywood writers stated that AMPTP’s share of residuals from streaming media has minimized the average income of the writers.
2) WGA demanded mandatory staffing where all shows have to be staffed with marginal writers for a minimal amount of time.
3) Another prime proposal was to protect the WGA from being replaced with Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT.
4) The writers pitched amendments to be made to pension and health policies. They demanded a fair share of profits from streaming platforms, especially for short-form content and library titles.

End of the strike and its impact on Netflix

Splendidly, the 4-month and 25-day strike ended on 27th September, 23. But the long interruption has surely impacted the fresh releases of shows on streaming services like Netflix. The late-night and daytime shows have started rolling out. But there will be a longer wait for the latest content on top shows and movies.

Netflix as a streaming service holds its position on the front end as it already streams the bulk of foreign content. That indicates more international programming in the coming months. With 6 million new subscribers in the second quarter, it indicates that the strike has an insignificant impact on the biggest streaming giant. Others like Disney and Apple are likely to witness a solid drop-off due to the strike as they rely mostly on scripted content. While the other streaming services are suffering, Netflix is tailoring out titles like ‘Too Hot To Handle Season 5’.

What’s happening now?

While the writers’ strike has officially ended, SAG-AFTRA members are still on strike. This means, we may see further delays until production resumes normally. It’s unclear how much longer it’ll it take for an agreement between studios and SAG-AFTRA. So until then, Netflix subscribers may have to return to the nostalgic episodes of old shows. Alternatively, viewers can also cave in to watching some great international content on the platform.

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