One Chicago eyes shortened seasons after strike

CHICAGO MED — “The Winds Of Change Are Starting To Blow” Episode 820 — Pictured: Steven Weber as Dean Archer — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)

As the SAG-AFTRA strike hits 114 days and continues to affect the entertainment industry, broadcast networks are reshaping their plans for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

The strikes have thrown a curveball into the traditional production schedules, prompting networks and studios to reconsider the length of seasons for popular scripted series.

While networks initially aimed to salvage seasons with at least 13 episodes following the end of the WGA strike, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA labor dispute has added further uncertainty. According to Deadline, industry insiders suggest that producing shorter seasons, around 10 episodes, has become a practical “sweet spot” for the 2023-24 season. This approach helps manage costs while ensuring the audience gets fresh episodes.

Several popular series, such as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and CBS’ CSI: Vegas, are currently planning for 10-episode seasons. However, the Wolf Entertainment dramas, including the One Chicago and Law & Order franchises on NBC and the three FBI series on CBS, are currently positioned to deliver 13 episodes.

Most other returning series fall into that 10-13 episode target range. Some established shows could get early renewals for next season and film the two orders back-to-back, to air in midseason 2024 and fall 2024 run.

If you’re lamenting that One Chicago will have significantly less episodes than usual, the strategy mirrors that of streaming networks where an entire season runs 8-10 episodes. Sometimes series such as Disney+’s Loki run only six.

The fluidity of the situation remains, with networks and studios closely monitoring developments in the SAG-AFTRA negotiations. Frequent adjustments are being made to production schedules and episode orders based on the progress of the strike.

Originally, the industry expected a seamless transition from the end of the WGA strike to the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA dispute. For efficiently run shows like those in the Wolf Entertainment portfolio, this transition would have meant approximately five weeks of pre-production after the writers’ room was active, enabling production to start swiftly. However, this ideal scenario has not materialized.

Now, as Thanksgiving approaches, the hope is for a SAG-AFTRA agreement during ratification within the next week, allowing production to commence at the end of November or the beginning of December. This timeline could enable established series such as Chicago P.D., Fire or Med to produce a full 13-episode season that fits within the broadcast season.

To expedite the production process, networks are considering a shorter Christmas break and implementing six-day workweeks. The aim is to get episodes in the can more quickly.

Deadline goes on to say, that mid-February following the Super Bowl and early March are being considered for established series’ debuts, but the situation is more complex for new series. New shows typically require more time to launch and find an audience, and due to the tight production schedule and limited runway in spring 2024, some high-profile entries might be pushed to the fall.

As the strikes’ impact continues to reverberate, networks are adapting to the challenges and uncertainties posed by the evolving labor disputes, seeking innovative solutions to deliver content to viewers while navigating this complex landscape.


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