This weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live starring host Pete Davidson and musical guest Lil Uzi Vert is canceled due to the writers’ strike, NBC announced Tuesday.
Instead of new episodes, repeats of the sketch comedy series will air “until further notice starting Saturday, May 6.”
SNL is the latest show to halt production after the Writers Guild of America ordered a strike, starting Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. PT.
Hours later, writers began picketing in Los Angeles, New York and other cities, with SAG-AFTRA members joining them in solidarity.
Related story: Hollywood writers launch pay strike over streaming and AI concerns
The WGA called the strike after talks with major studios and streaming services broke down over a pay rise and concerns over the role of artificial intelligence in screenwriting projects.
After weeks of negotiations, the two sides failed to agree a new contract by Monday’s deadline, prompting 11,500 film and TV screenwriters to pull out.
Once the strike began, the late-night shows were the first to die out.
Among the shows that press pause is CBS The Late Show with Stephen ColbertABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon And Late night with Seth Meyers, and Comedy Central The daily broadcast.
Shows are usually written the same day they air, which means they will likely remain on hiatus until the strike is resolved.
“I wouldn’t have a show without my writers, and I support them all the way,” Jimmy Fallon said. Variety at the Met Gala on Monday. “They need to have a fair contract, they have a lot to sort out, hopefully they will.”
Among the issues on the bargaining table, the WGA is asking for salary increases and residuals for streaming content. The guild also wants industry standards on the number of writers assigned to each show and for producers to “regulate the use of artificial intelligence” on entertainment projects.
“The WGA Negotiating Committee began this process with the intention of reaching a fair deal, but the studios’ responses have been woefully inadequate given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the guild said in a statement. a press release just before the start of the strike.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, issued a statement late Monday saying it had made a “generous” offer, which was rejected by the WGA.
“The AMPTP presented the guild with a comprehensive package proposal last night that included generous increases to writers’ compensation as well as improvements to streaming residuals,” the statement read.
This is the WGA’s first strike in 15 years. In 2007, the guild went on strike for 100 days, which reportedly cost the industry around $2 billion.