The writers strike has shut down a slew of TV series. Behind the statistics, there is a lot of heartache as every show is someone’s creation and every suspension affects a lot of people involved in it.
Veteran comedy showrunner Kristin Newman lifted the curtain on that side of the process in an emotional Facebook post Saturday announcing that her upcoming Freeform series, While You Were Breeding, has shut down post-production. Knowing that it was “the right thing to do” to make the strike “as short as humanly possible” did not make the decision less painful, Newman admitted. She also acknowledged “Freeform, who chose to do what this entire strike is about — value the voice of the writer/creator.”
Here is her post:
The hardest thing about being a showrunner during a strike is wondering if you’re the only schmuck furloughing all of your crew and potentially harming your career and/or show by halting work, so I wanted to say publicly that we shut down post production on the show that means more to me than anything I’ve ever made today. It uses voice over, which is generally straight from, like, my journal and/or soul, so it’s impossible to edit without writing. The air date is being pushed from this August to sometime in 2024 and it’s incredibly painful but I want this strike to be as short as humanly possible and that only happens if we really commit and all do this together.
I also want to acknowledge Freeform, who chose to do what this entire strike is about — value the voice of the writer/creator — and push pause until I can finish this thing we all care about and have worked so hard on properly. It was the right thing to do. #wgastrike #whileyouwerebreeding
Based on Newman’s memoir, While You Were Breeding follows Kacey (Chelsea Frei), single for the first time in her 30s, as she escapes her fast-paced life in Los Angeles to see the world. Catherine Cohen, Alice Hunter and Kosha Patel also star.
Newman executive produces along with Susanna Fogel and Blair Breard. Freeform is the studio.
