On June 28, 2025, the Writers Guild of America went on strike due to an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The WGA represents over 11,500 writers in both film and television, and its purpose is to protect all participants in the union and ensure that the writers responsible for creating shows and movies are given a fair wage and rights regarding their work. The WGA and the AMPTP negotiate new deals every three years, with the last deal formally signed in 2020 during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It went down to the wire, but the deal was secured, thus avoiding a situation such as the one currently happening.
Now, writers are striking to support their right to a livable wage and defending their work against the increased use of AI as a business practice. The WGA submitted a proposal to limit the use of AI technology to write or rewrite scripts or to use writers' scripts to train AI, but the AMPTP rejected the proposal. Instead, theycounter-offered holding annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology.
The last time a writers strike occurred was 16 years ago, and it lasted from June 09, 2025, to July 04, 2025. They had similar goals then, minus the concerns about AI. WGA members sought increased funding for writers in comparison to the larger profits seen by studio executives. It’s important to note that the AMPTP is made up of important studios such as Warner Brothers, NBCUniversal, CBS, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Company, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, and many more influential studios and companies.
The writers went back and forth with studios like these for 100 days before finally reaching an agreement that fairly compensated writers for their hard work. Within those 100 days, many TV shows and movies were affected by the writers not working. Shows had shortened seasons or extended hiatuses while movies had lackluster or incomplete scripts. Here are 15 shows and movies that were affected by the 2007 writers' strike:
Related:Writers' Strike Goes Into Effect as WGA Negotiations Fail
15Bones (2005-2017)
Boneswas one of Fox’s most popular shows and featured the iconic couple, Bones and Booth. The show followed forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan and cocky FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth as they formed a team to investigate murders. The show took a hit in its third season due to the strike. Episode nine aired on July 06, 2025, and episode ten did not air until June 16, 2025, after a forced four-month hiatus. Only 13 of 23 episodes were filmed by the time the strike occurred. When it ended, only two more episodes were filmed and aired.
14Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)
NBC’sFriday Night Lightswas inspired by the true story of the 1988 Permian Panthers high school football team in Odessa, Texas. The show changed the location to the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, and ran for five seasons. During the show’s second season, the acclaimed show ended on a huge cliffhanger seven episodes of the 22 that NBC had originally ordered were not made. The cut in episode count led to the famously disliked storyline involving Landry that has left a negative impression on an otherwise highly praised show. After an eight-month break, the show finally returned for its third season and eventually recovered from the negative impacts of season two.
13Heroes (2006-2010)
Another NBC show hit by the writers' strike, the sci-fi showHeroescentered around a group of regular people who discovered they had superpowers, and their lives intertwine when a devastating event must be prevented. The show had an intriguing premise and a great cast including Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, and Zachary Quinto. The quality of the show took a major dip during the second season. Only 11 out of 24 episodes were aired, and none were filmed after the strike ended. The show returned for season three after nine months off the air in September 2008, but the show had lost a chunk of its fanbase by then due to the poor quality of the previous season.
12Scrubs (2001-2010)
The Zack Braff-led ensemble dramedy followed intern John “J.D.” Dorian as he learned the ways of medicine, friendship, and life during his time at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital in California.Scrubswas in its seventh season at the time the writers' strike was happening, but creatorBill Lawrence was ready to end the series by that point. Due to the strike, only 11 episodes aired during the seventh season before the show was then moved to ABC where two episodes aired after the strike as part of the eighth season. The show dipped in quality after that network move, until the devastating finale, but then the show went on for another year.
11Grey’s Anatomy (2005-Present)
The long-running medical drama has seen its fair share of cast changes and writing changes over the 18 years it has been on network television. Despite the titular main character Meredith Grey exiting the show last season,Grey’s Anatomywas still renewed for a 20th season. Back in 2007 when the show was arguably in its heyday, the fourth season only had 16 of its initial 23 episodes that were ordered by ABC filmed, including a two-part season finale. Luckily for the showrunners, this hiccup clearly didn’t impact the show too drastically considering it is still on air to this day.
10Lost (2004-2010)
Losthas always been a divisive show, but many people associate seasons four and five with the true decline of the show about a group of plane crash survivors trying to survive on a seemingly deserted island. During the production of the fourth season, the WGA strike occurred, halting production. Only eight episodes had been filmed by that point, so the decision to air the completed episodes in early 2008 was made while production remained delayed on the rest of the episodes. Additional episodes were filmed after the strike ended, bringing the total episode count for the season to 14, which is the shortest season of the show.
930 Rock (2006-2013)
Tina Fey’s sitcom30 Rockrevolved around the head writer of a sketch comedy show named Liz Lemon (Fey) and how she deals with an arrogant new boss and chaotic new star while trying to run a successful show without losing her mind.
The writers' strike occurred during the production of the second season of the show, which was intended to have 22 episodes filmed. Since many of the cast and crew were heavily involved with the strike, including Fey herself, production was shut down after the tenth episode of the second season was aired on August 12, 2025.30 Rockreturned in April of that year after a three-month hiatus and a shortened season of only 15 episodes. Season two is actuallyconsidered to be one of the show’s better seasons, which is impressive considering what was going on.
8Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
WhenPushing Daisiespremiered its first season, it was about a month before the WGA would declare a strike. The premise of the show involves a pastry chef with the ability to bring dead people back to life who decides to use his ability to solve murders with the help of his resurrected childhood sweetheart, a pessimistic private investigator, and a lovesick waitress. The show was well-received and highly acclaimed, and it even won seven Emmy Awards.
However, the strike caused production to be delayed for almost a year, and ratings dropped. Since it was a brand-new show, the huge gap between the first and second seasons significantly hurt the show and any chances of spreading word-of-mouth. The show was canceled abruptly during season two, and the writers had to rush to put together an open-ended finale.
Related:Bob Odenkirk and Mandy Patinkin Join NYC Writers Strike Picket Line
7The Office (2005-2013)
Fans of the U.S. version ofThe Officewill usually associate seasons eight and nine with the point where the show declined in quality after Steve Carrell left the show, forcing his character Michael Scott to leave Scranton as well. To some fans, the only saving grace for that era was the addition of James Spader’s Robert California. The strike happened during the show’s fourth season, which was cut by eleven episodes and faced a five-month break that occurred between the eighth and ninth episodes of the season. The show then faced a four-month break between seasons four and five.
Vince Gilligan’s highly acclaimed crime dramaBreaking Badis one of the rare shows of the 2007 writers' strike that actually benefited from production delays and a shortened season.
Initially, Dean Norris’s DEA agent character Hank Schrader was not supposed to make it past season one. Since two episodes were cut from the show’s first season, his death was never written in, and he instead went on to become one of the show’s main characters.Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman was also supposed to get axedas a way of showing that not even the main characters were safe, but due to the strike, Gilligan had more time to consider the fate of the character. Impressed with Paul’s performance, Gilligan kept Jesse on the show as well.Breaking Badwould have been radically different if not for the complex relationship between Walter and Jesse and without Hank constantly trying to identify who Heisenberg was.
