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.
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.
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)
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)
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)
NCIS: Hawai’i (CBS, CBS Studios)
The Neighborhood (CBS, CBS Studios)
So Help Me Todd (CBS, CBS Studios)
December
All American (The CW, WBTV)
Will Trent (ABC, 20th)
January
911 (ABC, 20th)
All American: Homecoming (The CW, WBTV)