The Walking Dead season 8 starts filming as a WGA strike looms

The Walking Dead season 8 has started filming, but if negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP fall through today the WGA strike will shut down production.

Today is the deadline for the WGA and the AMPTP to reach a new agreement. If they fail to come to new terms for writers working on TV and movies the writers will strike starting tomorrow. The Walking Dead starts filming season 8 in Georgia today. A strike could delay All Out War.

Negotiations to stop a writers strike that could mean a longer wait for season 8 of The Walking Dead will pick up again today. But so far the WGA and the AMPTP have not been able to reach a new agreement. If they can’t come to terms before midnight tonight the writers will go on strike at midnight.

The last time that the WGA went on strike the work stoppage lasted just over 16 weeks. That’s a pretty significant delay for shows like The Walking Dead that are just going into production for the fall season. A strike would bring production to a halt until a new contract is reached.

According to Variety some progress has been made between the two groups. But as of May 1 they still have a ways to go before finalizing a new contract for writers.

A WGA strike means that fans could be waiting a lot longer for All Out War,  one of the most highly anticipated storylines of the show. It also means that a lot of the actors and crew will be left waiting to work.

What The Writers Are Striking For

The core issue that the two groups can’t seem to reach an agreement on is how writers are paid. The way that writers get paid hasn’t kept pace with the changes in the way that TV shows are made.

Now that cable networks and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are producing so much original content there is a higher demand for writers. But writers pay has actually decreased instead of increasing with the high demand for writers.

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The shows on streaming services and many cable networks have fewer episodes than the series that are on broadcast networks. Even though they have fewer episodes they often take just as long to make as shows that have more episodes.

Writers get paid by the episode. So fewer episodes means less money. And right now writers are contractually obligated to work on one show at a time. So writers are stuck working on shows that have fewer episodes and pay less than broadcast shows but take just as long as broadcast shows to make.

So the WGA is negotiating with the AMPTP to raise pay for writers and allow them to work on multiple shows at the same time. Other issues like healthcare are also being negotiated.

The Walking Dead Season 8 Filming Starts

Residents in the Senoia, GA area started noticing the tell-tale “Do Not Mow” signs all over the area a few weeks ago indicating that filming for The Walking Dead would soon begin. Filming for season 8 is set to start on May 1. Hopefully the WGA and AMPTP can reach an agreement today so that filming of The Walking Dead season 8 can continue on schedule.

Next: New characters for TWD season 8

After the alliance of The Kingdom, The Hilltop and Alexandria successfully drove Negan and The Saviors out of Alexandria in the season 7 finale of The Walking Dead fans are anxious for All Out War to get going.