Back to Work: When TV Shows Are Returning to Production Post-Strikes

With more than six months of labor actions in the rear-view mirror, the industry is preparing to restart dozens of productions that were shut down while writers and actors sought new and better contracts from studios and streamers.

The end of the SAG-AFTRA strike on Nov. 9 cleared actors to return to work (though the union’s membership still needs to ratify the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), and also signaled the beginning of prep work on a host of TV series. Media companies are prioritizing getting their broadcast shows running before the holidays, in hopes of salvaging the back end of the network season. Writers rooms have been open for about six weeks, following the end of the Writers Guild of America strike on Sept. 27.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

NBC’s comedy Night Court, produced by Warner Bros. TV and Universal Television, will be among the first shows to return to work; it’s slated to resume filming the week of Nov. 13. A number of other shows, including CBS’ FBI franchise and NBC’s Chicago dramas (all of which come from megaproducer Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment), are looking at the week after Thanksgiving to roll cameras.

Season two of Netflix’s Wednesday, the streamer’s most popular series to date, will tentatively begin production in late April and will go from filming in Romania to Ireland. Not much else is known about the second season of the hit horror comedy series, but co-showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have hinted there may be more Addams family members.

Starting in the next few weeks should allow enough time for network series to premiere in the first quarter of 2024. Most shows will be shortening their seasons to a range of 10 to 13 episodes, instead of the more typical 18 to 22 for a broadcast show.

The dates listed below are subject to change, depending on (among other things) how long prep time for a given show might last. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Week of Nov. 13

Night Court (NBC, Warner Bros. Television/Universal Television)

Week of Nov. 27

Abbott Elementary (ABC, WBTV/20th Television)
Chicago Fire (NBC, UTV)
Chicago Med (NBC, UTV)
Chicago PD (NBC, UTV)
The Sandman (Netflix, WBTV)
Young Sheldon (CBS, WBTV)

November TBD

Bob Hearts Abishola (CBS, WBTV)
FBI (CBS, UTV/CBS Studios)
FBI: International (CBS, UTV/CBS Studios)
FBI: Most Wanted (CBS, UTV/CBS Studios)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, ABC Signature)
The Irrational (NBC, UTV)
Law & Order (NBC, UTV)
Law & Order: SVU (NBC, UTV)
Quantum Leap (NBC, UTV)
The Rookie (ABC, Entertainment One/ABC Signature)
SWAT (CBS, Sony/CBS Studios)
Tracker (CBS, 20th)

Late November-Early December

Blue Bloods (CBS, CBS Studios)
CSI: Vegas (CBS, CBS Studios)
The Equalizer (CBS, UTV/CBS Studios)
Fire Country (CBS, CBS Studios)
Ghosts (CBS, CBS Studios/Lionsgate/BBC)
NCIS (CBS, CBS Studios)
The Neighborhood (CBS, CBS Studios)
So Help Me Todd (CBS, CBS Studios)

December

All American (The CW, WBTV)
NCIS: Hawai’i (CBS, CBS Studios; filming starts Dec. 4)
SEAL Team (Paramount+, CBS Studios)
Will Trent (ABC, 20th)

January

911 (ABC, 20th)
All American: Homecoming (The CW, WBTV)
The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix, A+E Studios)
Stranger Things (Netflix)

February

The White Lotus (HBO)

First Quarter 2024

Criminal Minds (Paramount+, ABC Signature/CBS Studios)
Yellowstone (Paramount Network, MTV Entertainment Studios/101 Studios)

April

Wednesday (Netflix, MGM Television)

Best of The Hollywood Reporter