‘Dancing With The Stars’ Faces Outcry For Restarting During Writers’ Strike—As Public Pressure Leads Other Shows To Shutter

Topline

Dancing with the Stars is the latest show to face protests from striking Writers’ Guild of America members as it prepares to return to the airwaves next week—joining a litany of shows that have grappled with whether to restart production and bring their non-writing staff back to work or stay off the air during the monthslong strike.

Actor Alfonso Ribeiro will host the 32nd season of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ (Photo by David … [+] Livingston/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Reality dance competition show Dancing with the Stars, which is a WGA-covered show because it employs one writer who is a guild member, is set to return next week without its WGA writer, but is facing pressure from striking writers who accuse the show of “scabbing”—or breaking strike rules.

The show reportedly intends to return so its 500 other crew members who are not on strike and aren’t affiliated with the WGA can remain on the job, and it maintains it will follow strike rules, including for its celebrity participants, some of whom are members of the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and are not allowed to discuss or promote film or television projects due to a separate actors’ strike.

Though Dancing with the Stars is largely unscripted, the show’s WGA writer typically works with the host to provide talking points and written announcements, according to Variety.

The Writer’s Guild has pledged to picket any WGA-covered shows that resume production—which includes Dancing with the Stars, as well as other shows that have been the recent targets of scrutiny, including The Drew Barrymore Show, Real Time with Bill Maher and The Talk.

Drew Barrymore’s show has been the highest-profile target of picketing writers: The actress faced widespread backlash from writers, actors and the WGA itself for announcing her daytime talk show’s return without writers last week, citing her non-WGA staff, but she ultimately announced Sunday her show would not return until after the strike.

Bill Maher similarly pledged to bring his show back so his non-writing staff could return to work, making him the only late-night talk show to announce a return since the writers’ strike began in May, but he dropped his plans one day after Barrymore, stating he hopes the strike can be resolved soon.

Surprising Fact

During the 2007-08 writers’ strike, Dancing with the Stars aired and was not picketed by the WGA. Some talk shows went off the air but later returned before the strike had ended, while late-night shows returned without writers after several months, and Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show continued production (and faced criticism from the WGA).

Chief Critics

Dancer Cheryl Burke, who competed on Dancing with the Stars for 25 seasons, said the show should remain off the air until the strikes are over. “In order for things to change, we have to stick together, point blank, because if one show just decides to think about the show on its own, this is not going to make big changes,” Burke said in a Variety interview. Former WGA board member David Slack tweeted Dancing with the Stars cannot be made without “scab writing,” and urged the celebrity cast—including co-host Alfonso Ribiero, who is an actor—to “refuse to cross our picket line.” WGA member Bill Wolkoff urged his fellow writers to picket the Dancing with the Stars lot at CBS TV City, stating the union will have “a BIG week on our lot picketing struck WGA shows that have decided to return. This prolongs the strike!” Wolkoff tweeted a picture of himself outside the studio where Dancing with the Stars films Tuesday morning, stating writers are “ready to picket if they go to air.”

Contra

Shows criticized for returning to the air have defended their decisions as an effort to return their non-writing crew members to work, and some that do not employ WGA writers say they aren’t crossing any picket lines at all. Sherri Shepherd, the host of daytime talk show Sherri, said her show does not and has never employed WGA writers, meaning her show hasn’t violated WGA strike rules. Other shows like The Drew Barrymore Show and Real Time have argued it’s possible to resume taping without writers and still abide by the WGA’s strike rules, often by focusing on unscripted interviews instead of segments that rely on writers. Some film industry workers—both in the United States and abroad—have said the strikes are negatively impacting their ability to work. “There are people who are suffering in the U.K.,” Marcus Ryder, the incoming chief executive of the Film and TV Charity, told the New York Times. Bectu, a British union for behind-the-scenes entertainment industry roles (which clarified it supports the strike), said 80% of its members reported their work being impacted by the strikes. Other industries have felt the impact of the strike—like food catering, cleaners and set builders—particularly in the Los Angeles area, where roles adjacent to the entertainment industry account for about 20% of the area’s income, CNBC reported.

Key Background

The WGA strike began in May, while the SAG-AFTRA strike started in July, shutting down much of Hollywood in the industry’s biggest labor dispute in decades. Both strikes concern disputes between the guilds and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios in negotiations. A key issue for both strikes is residual payments—writers and actors have said the streaming era has diminished opportunities to earn money from prior work, including from reruns on television, making it much more difficult to earn a living. Both guilds are also demanding protections against artificial intelligence, which writers fear can essentially replace their jobs and actors fear can use their likenesses without their consent. The studios argue they have offered the writers and actors large pay increases that show their “commitment to ending the strike.”

What To Watch For

Will Dancing with the Stars continue to air as planned—or will the public pressure campaigns, like those faced by Barrymore and Maher, lead it to pause production? The show is set to return for its 32nd season on September 28 on ABC and Disney+.