Dropout TV Resumes Production After Clarification From SAG-AFTRA Over Contract

Dropout TV’s contract is not on the list of struck contracts and thus can resume production on Dimension 20 and other shows. Today, Sam Reich posted that Dropout is back on production after receiving confirmation from SAG-AFTRA that their contract is not among those struck to work during the ongoing actors’ strike. “We assumed Dropout’s contract – the New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming – was struck because it wasn’t specifically on a list of non-struck contracts,” Reich wrote on social media. “After speaking at length with our lawyers and with SAG, turns out that is not the case.” This not only means that Dropout can resume production of its various streaming shows, which includes Dimension 20, Game Changer, and Um, Actually, cast members can also resume promoting said shows. 

It appeared that Dimension 20 was one of the few Actual Play shows affected by the actors’ strike due to their use of a SAG-AFTRA contract for work. Other major shows, such as Critical Role, were seemingly not impacted by the strike, likely because Actual Play falls into a grey category that doesn’t necessarily fall under the SAG-AFTRA purview despite the use of SAG-AFTRA union members. While Dropout notably shut down for several weeks as a result of the strike, the company still has content completed through the end of the year, so it’s likely that the shutdown won’t result in any significant gaps in any of its shows’ releases. Dropout has already announced a new season of Dimension 20, which is set to premiere this week. 

Keep in mind that the SAG-AFTRA strike doesn’t involve a list of companies, only a list of contracts that workers aren’t allowed to work during the strike. Production companies can still receive waivers if they are using a struck contract, with several indie shows and movies already receiving waivers early into the strike. 

Assuming that Faster, Purple Worm, Kill! Kill! and other shows related to the upcoming D&D Adventures FAST Channel are under the same contract, it’s likely that today’s announcement brings an end to the impact that SAG-AFTRA’s strike had on the growing actual play space.