With the writers strike in full swing, that means ‘pens down’ and no new writing or changes to scripts whatsoever, but Variety reports that the second season of the Disney+ Andor series is unaffected, as the scripts were locked prior to the strike.
“Pens down” means no WGA member can write or change scripts whatsoever, before, during or after production. In many cases, that has meant that showrunners have left their shows entirely, like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay or “Cobra Kai” executive producer Jon Hurwitz. Other writers rooms have shut down in advance of production on their next seasons, like “Abbott Elementary” and “Yellowjackets.”
Some showrunners are still involved with their series, however. “House of the Dragon” executive producer Ryan Condal is on set during production of the HBO series’ second season in the U.K., but with scripts already completed, Condal is working in what a source close to the show says is strictly a non-writing capacity: no editing, no network notes, no writing. Similarly, while “Andor” executive producer Tony Gilroy is not on set and no longer writing — scripts were locked before the strike — sources say he is still working as a producer on specific, non-writing elements like casting and scoring for the Disney+ show.
(Representatives for HBO and Lucasfilm declined to comment for this story.)
Watch the first series of Andor exclusively on Disney+ now, with the second and final series expected to arrive in August 2024, with shooting due to wrap this August.
