If the strike – which is scheduled from May 2 – goes ahead, filming for a string of big-time television series could be halted with immediate effect.

The WGA has said in a letter that writers have increasingly lost revenue in recent years and could find themselves in contracts with no work.

In the declaration, obtained by Deadline, executive director David J. Young explained that writers’ wages have dropped by 23% in the past two years, and a number of factors are to blame.

AMC

The Walking Dead season 8 could be postponed if the writers’ strikes go aheadAMC

Fans of the series might have to wait until later than the autumn for the new seriesAny delay in the start of work has the potential to postpone fall season premieres

David J. Young

He stated that short order series – which have 13 episodes or less – are particularly at fault because it means episode fees are now half the traditional number.

Young also hit out at exclusive contracts, which ban writers from working on other projects. The result means that writers are stuck when there is no more work required on short season series.

It’s also claimed that royalties for writers are too low in emerging rerun markets.

If the pay discrepancies are not resolved by May 1, the writers’ strike will go ahead and could have a catastrophic effect on some of the biggest US shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live and Saturday Night Live, among a flurry of others.

Young wrote: “Should this occur, writing for television, feature films and digital series will cease. Some scripted series scheduled to air in the summer of 2017 may be affected as writing and producing for the season is ongoing.”

ABC

Hit shows such as Modern Family could also be affected by the strikeAnd the results could be even more disastrous for the likes of The Walking Dead and Empire, both of which are set for an Autumn return.

The director warned that writers working on autumn launches begin work in May and June to develop storylines and write episodes before production.

“Any delay in the start of work has the potential to postpone fall season premieres and reduce the amount of new programming available to advertisers and audiences,” he cautioned.

The last strike – which took place in November 2007 and lasted for 100 days – resulted in a loss of almost 25% of scripted programming for the 2007-2008 season.

Shows including ABC hit Desperate Housewives were among the shows affected at the time.

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