Following the conclusion of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, Warner Bros. Television has reinstated Greg Berlanti and J.J. Abrams‘ respective production deals.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, effective Thursday, September 28, 2023, all suspensions Warner Bros. Television had previously issued to top showrunners, including Berlanti and Abrams, have been lifted. The deals had previously been suspended during the five-month WGA strike as a means to save costs during the work stoppage.
Greg Berlanti and J.J. Abrams have ties to the DC Universe
Berlanti Productions is best known for producing multiple DC Comics shows, including the highly successful Arrowverse for The CW. The beloved shared universe began in 2012 with Arrow and concluded with the ninth and final season of The Flash earlier this year. Other DC shows part of the Arrowverse include Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman and Black Lightning. Current and upcoming productions for Berlanti include Doom Patrol, Superman and Lois, and The Sandman spin-off series Dead Boy Detectives.
Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions previously had a production deal with DC Studios, during which time he developed multiple Justice League Dark projects, including a Constantine reboot. However, these projects were reportedly scrapped in early 2023 after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as heads of DC Studios. Bad Robot is still attached as a production company on the upcoming animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader, which will stream on Amazon Prime Video.
WGA signs new deal with the AMPTP
The WGA began striking on May 2 after contract negotiations between the writers’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down. The two sides jointly announced that a tentative agreement had been reached on September 24, with the strike officially coming to an end on Wednesday, September 27, after 148 days.
However, Hollywood isn’t entirely back to normal yet as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) remains on strike. The union, like the WGA, is striking for better streaming residuals and safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence from the AMPTP.
