‘The Porter’ Producer Jennifer Kawaja on Sphere Media’s Slate, WGA Strike Impact

Hello Insiders, Jesse Whittock here to take you through a scorching week in international TV and film. Don’t forget to subscribe. Let’s go.

British big-hitters Russell T. Davies, Jack Thorne and Dennis Kelly are preparing to stand with writers around the world today in support of striking scribes on a global day of solidarity and action.

Daredevil: Born Again and The Penguin finally have thrown in the towel: Deadline has learned that the Disney+ series and the Max drama will remain on pause until the end of the WGA Strike — whenever that may be.

On May 10, CBS unveiled a fall 2023 lineup that didn’t factor the potential impact from the ongoing writers strike (and a possible SAG-AFTRA work stoppage). Besides the unscripted Wednesday, comprised of supersized episodes of Survivor and The Amazing Race, and Sunday anchor 60 Minutes, the announced schedule features all scripted series Sunday-Friday, none of which has episodes in the can.

writers strike that is being branded “Screenwriters Everywhere,” with events planned in major cities including Paris and London. The Writers Guild of America has enlisted members from the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, Federation of Screenwriters in Europe and UNI Global Union to demonstrate global support for the union’s strike against Hollywood’s largest producers. The unprecedented rallying behind the WGA is especially relevant during this strike given the globalization of content, and the fast-growing international outposts of many “struck” companies, such as Netflix and Prime Video.

The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace will be telling fellow American writers “we are not in this alone” when he returns home from London later.

Massive release date changes were fairly commonplace over the past few years, as we watched the COVID pandemic shift entire distribution strategies for film studios. Now, it appears the WGA Strike has finally shown its impact on film releases, at least over at Disney, as the studio delays some of the biggest films on its schedule including new “Avengers,” “Star Wars,” and “Avatar” films.

Please note, the following interview was done outside of the FYC event series as there was no cast panel or screening. 

EXCLUSIVE: Filming on Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again has been shut down for today, sources tell Deadline. The new season of the Marvel series was supposed to shoot at its New York home base of Silvercup East, which has been a main picketing location for striking WGA members.

Amber Dowling As the WGA strike continues, Canadian broadcasters are conducting business as usual—at least in front of the cameras. Bell Media and Corus Entertainment launched upfront presentations for advertisers and media buyers in Toronto last week, while Rogers Sports & Media opted for a virtual presentation. (Public broadcaster CBC skipped the traditional industry-facing event in favor of a series of meetings, but is planning a launch event in late fall.) Over the week, company leaders laid out 2023-24 broadcast schedules anchored by American acquisition programming. They boasted Canadian originals and specialty content. Rogers announced the buzzy new “Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.” Bell Media upped its original library to more than 1,000 hours and revealed the upcoming launch of ad tiers to its streaming service, Crave. And Corus confirmed 25 new and returning original titles.

There’s new blood at the top of Fremantle UK’s Too Hot to Handle co-producer Thames and The Apprentice maker Naked.

The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge could “absolutely” get her own spin-off series, according to the show’s creator.Coolidge starred as Tanya McQuoid in the two seasons of the hit HBO show, the only character to carry over between both season one and two.Tanya met her death at the end of season two, but creator Mike White has said that there is the possibility of a prequel series focusing on the character.“I absolutely think that’s possible,” White told press at the Vivid Sydney Festival this weekend (June 10), as reported by Deadline.“We were just talking about that. It’s a funny idea,” he added, discussing the potential joy of “making Jennifer 20 years younger” to become a younger version of Tanya.“That would be fun too,” White added.

volunteers as tribute!During a recent interview with Variety, the 32-year-old actor was asked if she'd ever be interested in reprising her role from franchise, based on the hyper-popular dystopian YA novels by Suzanne Collins. From 2012 to 2015, Lawrence brought the bow-and-arrow-wielding heroine Katniss Everdeen to life on film, securing herself a permanent spot on Hollywood's A-list.

Film and television writers from around the world will be picketing and rallying Wednesday in support of the Writers Guild strike, which is now in its 39th day.

IATSE’s general executive board has unanimously approved $2 million to be distributed to the union’s members who are in need of financial assistance due to the Writers Guild strike, which is in its 39th day.

EXCLUSIVE: The animation indie behind Netflix’s Trash Truck and My Dad the Bounty Hunter has been acquired by France Télévisions’ studio arm.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Filming permit requests for TV and film projects in New York City were down 13% in April and 31.5% in May as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike raged on, Variety has confirmed. According to information obtained by Variety, 760 requested shooting permits were issued to 177 projects by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in 2022, and 801 permits were granted to 227 projects in May last year. Comparatively, only 662 shooting permits were issued to 187 projects this April and 549 permits to 181 projects in May. The writers strike began May 2, following the WGA’s inability to ink a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) before the previous agreement expired May 1. Between April and May, the filming permits requested for shoots in NYC fell 17%, while in 2022 they had increased just over 5% between the two months.

A group of high-profile writers including Julie Plec and new Station 19 showrunner Zoanne Clack opened up about the WGA strike and the main issues surrounding the walkout at the ATX Television Festival.

Jennifer Lopez's movie Unstoppable stopped on Friday due to the ongoing writers strike. Production on the wrestling drama flick — which stars the 53-year-old Maid In Manhattan actress — paused amid picketing by the Writers Guild of America, according to Deadline.   It is unknown when the biopic — from her husband Ben Affleck's indie production company with Matt Damon, Artists Equity — will resume filming but is expected to pick back up at the end of the strike at the very latest, the publication reported.

the film shut down production Wednesday due to picketers at USC’s campus, where it was filming.The Artists Equity production is just the latest mid-production feature to have its schedule halted due to picketers, as Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune” was one of the first such films to be brought to a standstill two weeks ago.“Unstoppable” is a drama based on a true story and also stars Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome in the role of Anthony Robles. Despite being born with one leg, Robles became a three-time All-American wrestler and won a national championship at Arizona State.