r/americandad • u/DemiFiendRSA • May 12 '23
Seth MacFarlane & Showrunners Exit ‘American Dad’ Until Striking WGA Gets New Contract News
https://deadline.com/2023/05/writers-strike-seth-macfarlane-exits-family-guy-american-dad-wga-showrunners-1235365362/689
u/ITCM4 May 12 '23
That gives Patrick Stewart more time to play Home Alone.
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u/GimmieDemWaffles May 13 '23
More time to spend on his labyrinth
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u/Gwthrowaway80 May 13 '23
Attaboy! You solved my labyrinth and I’m proud of you.
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u/Waywoah May 13 '23
I love how they don’t actually get the truck as a reward, it’s just the end point of the labyrinth
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u/Subliminal_Kiddo May 13 '23
I heard it got weird down there, so he just locked it up and forgot about it.
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u/Bisexual_Apricorn Stoive? Roiger! May 12 '23
And watch Star Trek, since he was too busy in the 90s to watch it himself
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u/Appearance-Medical May 12 '23
It's worth it to get 3 chairs for every 5 crew members!!!
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u/Junefromkablam May 12 '23
THAT'S LUNCH!
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u/ntropy2012 May 13 '23
I have introduced my coworkers (small remodeling crew) to Roger's union grip persona, and the whole "THAT'S LUNCH!" shout after breaking something.
The other day we removed an old deck and one of them tore out the existing light fixture, and yelled, "THAT'S LUNCH!!"
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u/Human_Roomba May 12 '23
Can’t make fudge out of a waterfall
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u/Delicious-Western361 May 12 '23
I don’t even know how to make fudge
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u/worthless-humanoid Uncle Kappy May 12 '23
It uses non union sound so it’ll SOUND. LIKE. SHIT!!
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u/Dr_killshot_JR Bayou Billy with the Heavy Balls May 13 '23
I thought it was going to be a hit. Turns out IT SUCKS!
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u/Massive_Durian296 The Phantom of the Telethon May 12 '23
I think the "powers that be" forget just how much the strike back in 07-08 had everyone over a fkn barrell. like there were huge, long hiatuses of top tv shows. idk why they think that wont happen again.
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u/deezx1010 May 12 '23
Heroes was ruined. It hurts me to this day. I always got out of my night shower as a kid and watched Heroes while I dried off 😥
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u/tehmlem Roland Chang May 13 '23
You must have had really shitty towels
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u/deezx1010 May 13 '23
Lmao idk why I just like the feeling of air drying. To this day. Being soaking wet then slowly getting dry
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May 13 '23
Peacock okay'd a Heroes reboot like two years ago, if it wasn't cancelled before it probably is now.
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u/BeraldGevins May 13 '23
Imagine being a creator of that show. The first attempt was ruined by a writers strike, and then over a decade later you finally get approved for a remake to make it like you originally wanted and then….it gets killed by another, separate writers strike.
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u/ravathiel May 13 '23
Yeah but we got some golden shit from Conan though during that time.
I love when he's off script
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u/TheGreatCornholeo May 13 '23
According to American Dad, golden shit is one of the best things ever!
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u/lopsiness May 13 '23
It was my favorite period for the Daily Show, Colbert Report and Conan. All three really shined.
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May 13 '23
Shows aren’t as regular as they used to be. Seasons aren’t on the annual cadence like they were in 07-08. I’m not sure people will really notice.
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u/WelcomeHumble4518 May 13 '23
They probably think they can handle long hiatuses now since they just dealt with something similar during COVID.
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u/kavik2022 May 13 '23
Breaking bad. Widely thought of as one of the greatest shows of all time. Had one, sort of okish "you can mostly skip it until the last bit" episode. And people still call it out as been a bad episode
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May 13 '23
It's almost certainly going to happen again. I know that the writers are winning these p.r. battles on social media, but the producers and studios have the upper hand in these negotiations by a lot. Television series are costing more and making less than they ever have; many distributors and studios have actually been outright taking losses over these series for years. Before the merger of Warner Bros. + Discovery, HBO, probably the most elite channel in all of television history, was literally on the brink of total financial collapse because everything they make costs so damn much. All of this means that it's going to be incredibly difficult for the writers to make the case during these negotiations (or during any potential court fights that might erupt from this process) that the studios are capable of paying more than they already are. All that being said, the studios and distributors themselves want to pay their writers rooms what basically amounts to part time salaries and classify them as gigs or per day work. They have to find some kind of tenable middle ground in all of this, and given the MASSIVE distance between the parties involved, nobody should expect that they're going to find it anytime soon.
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u/Mouseklip Dive On In! May 12 '23
It’s funny how literally no one is against the striking workers; glad to see what everyone needs to see. Workers using their collective power to demand reasonable wages and workplaces. Now if this is the writers, now do everyone else.
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May 12 '23
My favourite Seth MacFarlane story is him openly criticizing Jon Stewart for throwing his employees under the bus when they wanted to unionize.. (Jon Stewart was fucking furious apparently)
I've literally never heard anything negative about Seth and he will even go against his friends when he thinks it is the right thing to do.
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u/fuck_a_bigot May 13 '23
Not surprised, Jon is the same man who immediately went to simping and doing PR for fossil fuels after coming back to tv
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May 13 '23
You know the old saying "unless you are a vet or a 9/11 victim, go fuck yourself!"
He did do great for those two groups at least.
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u/Whatsthehoopla May 12 '23
My local weed dispensary workers went on strike a few weeks ago. Brought a tear to my eye.
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u/MMorrighan Dive On In! May 12 '23
I essentially left the cannabis industry because the owners of the shop I worked at were so vehemently anti-union. The irony of course is that if they had just given the $0.25 an hour raises I had recommended 4 months prior, none of the employees would have felt any need to take that vote.
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u/TheGlassHammer Genevive Vavance May 12 '23
Unions exist because the top is too greedy. Happy workers don’t feel the need to unionize
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u/WeirdIsAlliGot May 13 '23
Yup, see Costco.
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u/Irishboosie May 13 '23
That is quickly changing across the company. The warehouse I worked in was very anti-union and I was told by our GM they don’t allow new warehouses to start with a union as they’re slowly phasing them out.
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u/fuck_a_bigot May 13 '23
They’re gonna end up like Walmart in no time then unless their union starts fighting back
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u/Irishboosie May 13 '23
You’re absolutely correct, that’s what a lot of us continually told management, but they don’t care so long as they’re getting their corporate bonuses. And Covid showed them they can run a skeleton crew and make even more money.
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u/ROACHOR The Phantom of the Telethon May 13 '23
A worker happy to be exploited is a fool, unionization is the only way to get a fair wage.
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u/tenerific May 13 '23
I get paid well, I’m not in a union, so no, you don’t have to be in a union to get a fair wage.
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u/ROACHOR The Phantom of the Telethon May 13 '23
If you were in a union you'd be paid more, worker's rights aren't handed out by benevolent bosses they pay you as little as they possibly can.
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u/tenerific May 13 '23
I’m paid more than the average unionized worker in my industry, key is working for a small business in a tight knit community, where you know the boss well. Once again, I say, unions are not necessary to get a fair wage.
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u/ROACHOR The Phantom of the Telethon May 13 '23
Without unions there would be no fair wages, no weekends, no minimum wage, no workers rights at all.
Claiming unions are unnecessary is capitalist propaganda.
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u/OmegaLiquidX Roland Chang May 12 '23
Mine were going to go on strike, until they got high
They were going to get up and picket, but then they got high
Now they're underpaid, and they know why (why man?)
Cause they got high
Because they got high
Because they got high
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May 12 '23
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u/Whatsthehoopla May 12 '23
I am! Seeing the big rat in front of there was kinda trippy.
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May 12 '23
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u/Whatsthehoopla May 12 '23
Right on brother! Good to see the picket line working!
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May 13 '23
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May 13 '23
I’m a industry worried in Las Vegas who’s been keeping up with that mess. The company paid for fencing to be put up around the store rather than meeting the employees in the middle with anything. Absolute absurdity
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u/Bamfculpep7 May 13 '23
If reddit still gave free rewards to give out I would have 100% gave you one lol
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u/PartyPorpoise May 12 '23
I'm a little surprised too, especially since art jobs are so often devalued. Maybe because Hollywood studios make so much damn money, people are more sympathetic. After all, top actors and directors get insane salaries, why not the writers?
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u/G_Regular Reaganomics Lamborghini May 12 '23
I think people these days are also a little more aware of where the content they’re watching and reading comes from, there’s less of a disconnect between the creators and the art as there was 30 years ago.
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u/YueAsal Legman May 12 '23
I wonder if it is kind because it is a "dream job". I would love to do something like that (not saying I have the talent for it just that I would love it), so the attidude is "You are lucky to be here, many want to he here, it is not hard to find a replacement."
I think the weed industry has this too, a lot of people think "awesome working with weed" so there is more demand than supply. I think it speaks to a larger issue that people should never be treated as a comidity
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u/AwesomeX121189 May 12 '23
Yep that’s a huge part of it.
There’s a line around the block of people in Hollywood that would take someones job for less money simply just because they want to work in the industry.
Writers also don’t usually have a final say in the product before it’s released, directors might rewrite on set, actors improvise, studio heads force them to make idiotic changes in the editing room, cgi might not come out well, etc etc.
easy to blame them when it’s a bad film, and can point to many other people involved in it’s making when it goes well.
People also don’t know how much work goes on in writers rooms for tv shows or how much stress and time it takes to deliver full seasons of a show with consistent quality
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u/Precarious314159 May 12 '23
I'm wondering if the acceptance of the strike is because it's the end of the broadcast season. Most sitcoms have already wrapped up the season and won't be back for a few months regardless. We might see people turn against the writers if they're still striking by september when shows are meant to return.
People tend to be in favor of strikes as long as it doesn't impact them too much. If a local Starbucks strikes, good on them, you go to the next one or dutch bros or Peets but if all coffee shops go on strike, people will stop being as accepting.
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u/nepo5000 Klaus Heisler May 13 '23
That’s the annoying but necessary thing about strikes if no one is inconvenienced and nothings changed there’s not really a practical point to doing it all
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u/CrazyaboutSpongebob May 13 '23
No, you use a strike to tear apart an organization from the inside. LOL Just Kidding I support the strike. I just wanted to make an episode reference.
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u/Greenman8907 Roland Chang May 12 '23
While it sucks for fans, this is good for them.
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u/CrazyaboutSpongebob May 13 '23
It doesn't suck for us yet. The current season is already produced they just need to finish airing the episodes. Animation is done a year in advance.
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u/Highen May 12 '23
Yeah but fuck the fans right daddy needs a new yatch
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u/Sgt_Fox May 12 '23
How much do you think writers make?...
These aren't producers, directors, CEOs ect. These are writers. Struggling to make rent and buy food writers.
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May 12 '23
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u/SomeKindOfTube28 May 12 '23
They absolutely are living paycheck to paycheck. Source: a friend who currently writes for American Dad
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May 12 '23
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u/SomeKindOfTube28 May 12 '23
Yes. A show’s popularity is not relevant. Research the WGA strike, and also we all live in Los Angeles which is not an affordable city. This is a good place to start https://www.wgacontract2023.org/the-campaign/pattern-of-demands
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u/Skullrogue May 12 '23
Thank you very much, i'll read up on it, sorry for my ignorance on this, im from the Netherlands so things are pretty different here. Time to reap some downvotes, but i think this is the healthiest way of growing :)
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u/SomeKindOfTube28 May 12 '23
Thank you for taking the time to learn and understand! This is what strikes are for. Support labor unions :)
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u/CrazyaboutSpongebob May 13 '23
Animators and animation writters don't make a ton of money. They get paid less than live action writers. Its very rare to see cartoonists make a ton of money. The rare exceptions are Matt Groening, Seth MacFarlane, and Charles Schultz.
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u/gg_iloveyou Francine Smith May 12 '23
I hope this gives Seth a chance to rest his voice. American Dad! means a lot to me and I never want it to end, but I don’t want Seth (or any of the other actors) to hurt himself!
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u/ClumpOfCheese May 13 '23
American Dad! Is such a good cartoon and I don’t think enough people appreciate it. I love South Park and have watched every episode the day it aired, but American Dad! has so much rewatchability.
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u/gg_iloveyou Francine Smith May 13 '23
1000% agree! Family Guy merch everywhere but no AD!. So underappreciated.
Rewatchability I can attest to lol. I used to watch it for 15 hours/day. As soon as I finished the last episode of the series I’d start with the pilot again.
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u/thebiggestpinkcake May 12 '23
They're going to stick it to the man ✊
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u/Naismythology Lazy Wine-Loving Bisexual May 13 '23
I kept saying “bosom.” I’ve never used that word in my life.
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u/Necessary_Row_4889 May 12 '23
I was on strike for 29 weeks once. I don’t think anyone famous noticed.
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u/KAG25 May 12 '23
How much is MacFarlane involved with it now
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u/TheVicSageQuestion May 12 '23
As I understand it, very little. I think this is probably more a show of support for his people than anything.
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u/CrazyaboutSpongebob May 13 '23
He just does voices nowadays because he is too busy.
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u/KAG25 May 13 '23
ahh, he is Hollywood now
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u/CrazyaboutSpongebob May 13 '23
Nah the story goes like this. Family Guy was canceled after season 3. Seth Macfarlane, Matt Weitzman, and Mike Barker made American Dad together. Family Guy was brought back and Seth didn't like running back and forth between shows. He was most involved early on. American Dad is more Weitzman and Barker's baby. He even admits this in interviews. He stopped running AD and just ran Family Guy until season 9. Nowadays he is most focused on the Orville. Source: Art of Family guy book.
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u/Raxevon May 13 '23
Got nothing against unions, my daddy was a union man. He was a piper fitter. I'm just saying unions make no sense for certain industries. For example pipe fitting.
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u/Jpicklestone8 May 12 '23
for a split second while reading i got spooked thinking people were just leaving american dad for good; but for the writers strike thing? good
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u/ragtopponygirl Emmy-Lou Sugarbean May 13 '23
I did the same split second panic! "Oh gawd it's finally happening! I don't want to live!"
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May 12 '23
Hell yeah. I'm finally in a labor union and feels fucking good. I hope all sectors across the board can unionize. And that their union reps work for them, in the workers' best interest. And oh, klaus wrote the lyrics.
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u/DiabeticGrungePunk May 13 '23
Outside of voice acting, is he even involved in the writing of the show anymore? I thought he hadn't been involved with this or Family Guy's writing in like a decade at least.
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u/Fair_University Kevin Ramage May 13 '23
Shit, headline scared me for a second. Totally forgot about the strike
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u/Nex_Skala May 12 '23
Noooo. Walk out on Family Guy not American Dad. 😭
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u/zsxdflip May 12 '23
Support labor rights or fuck off
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u/Nex_Skala May 12 '23
Well I did till you wanted to be confrontational about it so now fuck them and fuck you harder. Do something about it. I hope they get replaced by non union for half the cost.
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u/zsxdflip May 12 '23
Lol not gonna happen
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u/Nex_Skala May 12 '23
I know, I wouldn't be able to watch it anyway. Be like getting a diet coke when you want a pepsi. 🤢
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u/Dr_Henry-Killinger May 12 '23
Man i hate that this is effecting everything, I’m sure we all want writers pay to increase but these greedy corpos just won’t budge.
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u/greendemon42 May 12 '23
I would expect no less, just like the support he showed for the last wga strike.
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u/Ok_Beautiful9509 May 13 '23
Not a loss: the newer seasons have alraedy been written by AI-like sentient beings.
The earlier seasons were golden though
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u/ItsAlwaysRuckFuss Chex LeMeneux May 12 '23
Well this sucks I just bought the new season so I can keep up with the new episodes.
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u/gg_iloveyou Francine Smith May 12 '23
You’ll be able to see them eventually!
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May 12 '23
And hopefully from writers that are paid fairly
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u/Sweeps_McCullough May 12 '23
Isnt the point of a union to negotiate a fair contract from the start?
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u/CrazyaboutSpongebob May 13 '23
The new season is already completed they just need to finish airing the episodes. Animation is done a year in advance and they make 20 or so episodes at once. The production of the next season will probably be affected.
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u/AdjunctAngel May 13 '23
even though family guy and american dad could be written entirely by AI and barely anyone would notice? ok...
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u/Kommander-in-Keef May 13 '23
Seth MacFarlane was the highest paid writer ever at one point, he probably has the largest presence so for him to get behind it is super mportant
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u/PossumPalZoidberg May 13 '23
Seth, for all the shit he gets, and that terrible anti vaccine Nixon episode of AD, has always been solid on labor issues.
Good for him.
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u/OrneryFriendship5247 Reaganomics Lamborghini May 12 '23
Sounds like things are getting too spicy for the pepper