Writers Guild East pickets Philly-area production of Apple TV+’s ‘Sinking Spring’

Hollywood and New York City aren’t the only places seeing demonstrations from the Writers Guild of America as the union continues its strike this week. Now, Philadelphia-area members and their supporters are picketing, too.

On Tuesday, WGA East members picketed the production of Apple TV+ show Sinking Spring at the Newtown Square Friends Meetinghouse in Delaware County. Actors from the union SAG-AFTRA also joined the picket line, some holding Philadelphia-themed strike signs.

“Gritty says Pay Up AMPTP,” one sign read, including a drawn image of Flyers mascot Gritty. The AMPTP, or the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, represents about 350 TV and film companies, and is the group with which the WGA is attempting to secure a contract.

A representative for WGA East did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sinking Spring, initially reported as Catamount, is a limited-run drama based on the crime novel Dope Thief by Philadelphia native Dennis Tafoya. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring actor Brian Tyree Henry, the show was spotted filming in Old City and West Philadelphia earlier this year. It is scheduled to film at locations throughout the Philadelphia region through July.

The Sinking Spring picket line is among the latest actions the union has taken as part of its strike. Members began striking last week after negotiations with the AMPTP ended without a new contract.

At issue in the disagreement are compensation from streaming services, and the use of artificial intelligence in entertainment writing. The WGA has said that while streaming services initially created more jobs, studios haven’t increased wages, despite increasing inflation. According to Vox, the median screenwriter pay is the same this year as it was in 2018 — effectively a 14% decrease in pay.

AI, union leaders say, could heavily impact jobs for writers without contractual protections. As a result, the WGA wants contractual safeguards that will keep the use of AI from taking work and payment from writers, Deadline reports.

The strike has caused a number of shows to stop production or temporarily go dark. Those include late-night talk shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show. NBC’s Saturday Night Live also went dark over the weekend, and will be airing reruns of past episodes “until further notice,” the network said in a statement.

Other shows have also stopped production, including Netflix’s Stranger Things, Marvel Studios’ Blade, and Disney’s Bunk’d, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Additionally, Deadline reports, WGA members have organized smaller demonstrations around the Los Angeles area that have stopped production on series including Disney+’s Wonder Man and Apple’s Loot.

“The message that we’re hearing loud and clear is all the other unions in town have our back, they want to support us. I don’t think they’re afraid anymore,” a WGA source told the publication. “This is really sending a message to the powers that be at the companies that when the WGA strikes, production shuts down. And not just in LA and New York, but everywhere.”