New Billy Crystal Apple TV+ Series Shuts Down Production Amid Writers Strike

Apple TV+'s Before is the latest series to pause its production amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. On Thursday night, it was reported that Before will be shutting down production until the strike is over, after the show was temporarily shut down due to WGA picketers. Before has been filming in New Jersey, and is believed to have completed five episodes prior to this shutdown.

Before will star Billy Crystal in his very own Apple TV+ series as Eli, a child psychiatrist who recently lost his wife when he encounters a troubled young boy. The series is also executive produced by Crystal, alongside writer Sarah Thorp, director Adam Bernstein, and Jet Wilkinson and Eric Roth.

What Shows Have Shut Down During the WGA Strike?

It was recently confirmed that Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again and Max's The Penguin have also paused their productions entirely amid the strike, as has the Marvel blockbuster Blade, which was set to finally begin production later this summer. Evil, Stranger Things, Severance, Good Trouble, Sinking Spring, Thunderbolts, and Marvel's Wonder Man have all been reported to temporarily freeze their production in recent weeks.

"As long as we're doing it in a gracious way and everybody's in agreement that we can work when we're allowed to work and we'll shut down when we should shut down, at a respect for the teamsters and the writers and such, then that's what we're going to do," Daredevil: Born Again star Vincent D'Onofrio told ComicBook.com in a recent interview. "And so far, so good. It's been going well."

Why Are the WGA Striking?

The WGA have cited a slew of reasons for the strike, which began on May 1st and has already begun to have a domino effect on the larger industry. The union hopes to see improvements in residuals from media streamed online, as well as additional benefits and safeguards against artificial intelligence potentially being used to write stories instead of real writers.

"Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal — and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains — the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," the WGA said in a statement on May 1st. "We must now exert the maximum leverage possible to get a fair contract by withholding our labor."

The statement continued: "The WGA Negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, but the studios' responses have been wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing. The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing. From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a 'day rate' in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership."

h/t: Deadline