Seth Meyers prepares viewers for the writers’ strike

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Seth Meyers is standing in solidarity with Hollywood writers.

Ahead of the strike by members of the Writers Guild of America, Meyers talked about it during the “Corrections” segment on his “Late Night with Seth Meyers” show on Friday.

“I’m good at one thing, which is writing, and I love writing so much,” Meyers told viewers.

“I am deeply proud of the fact that I get to be a professional writer,” he continued. “I bring this up because, as of Monday at midnight, there might be a writers’ strike. And if a writers’ strike happens, that would shut down production on a great many shows.”

Meyers recalled a previous strike by the WGA, which lasted 100 days over 2007 – 2008, during his time on “Saturday Night Live”

“It doesn’t just affect the writers, it affects all the incredible non-writing staff on these shows,” he said. “And it would really be a miserable thing for people to have to go through, especially considering we’re on the heels of that awful pandemic that affected obviously not just show business, but all of us.”

On Monday night’s episode, hours ahead of the strike officially being called, Meyers again brought up the negotiations, saying that if a deal wasn’t reached, “this show will be interrupted and we won’t be here to spend time with you.”

“This is a show that is built on strong writing,” he later added. “Strong writing is essential to this show, it’s essential to any show where the host is at best a C+ performer,” Meyers also joked. “Really gotta have the jokes!”

“I love writing, I love writing for TV,” the television personality also said. “I love writing this show, I love that we get to come in with an idea for what we want to do every day and we get to work on it all afternoon and then I have the pleasure of coming out here and saying those words to you.”

“No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation,” Meyers continued. “They are entitled to make a living. I think it’s a very reasonable demand that is being set out by the guild, and I support those demands.”

Last month, members of the guild voted 98% in favor of going on strike if no new deal is reached before their current contract expires at 11:59 pm PDT Monday.

They are seeking better wages and data transparency as studios and streamers say they are feeling the pinch from the economy.

Other topical comedy shows with teams of writers like “Late Night” are expected to be among the first programs where the impact of a strike will be quickly noticeable to viewers.

During the 2007-2008 strike, most late-night shows aired reruns.

Meyers told his audience late last week that if they don’t see him in the coming days, it will be due to the strike. He added he was “incredibly hopeful that they can come to an agreement.”

“I also feel very strongly that what the writers are asking for is not unreasonable,” he said. “And, as a proud member of the Guild, I’m very grateful that there is an organization that looks out for the best interests of writers.”

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