With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike continuing, Warner Bros. is suspending production deals with many top creators. This includes Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti and J.J. Abrams.
Deadline reported on the decision, with an anonymous source detailing which creators are being suspended. The source claims that the latest wave of suspensions includes Greg Berlanti Productions, Kaling International, and Doozer Productions.
“I hear the calls were made last night. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot also is in the process of being notified,” claims the source. The source also confirmed that Warner Bros. Discovery started suspensions in May, with Chuck Lorre Productions being among the first wave.
How WB Suspensions Affects Comics Media
Berlanti Productions is best known for producing multiple DC Comics shows for The CW. In addition to Superman and Lois, which is one of Warner Bros. biggest hits, Berlanti Productions is also producing the new Booster Gold series and Dead Boy Detectives.
Previously, J.J. Abrams had a production deal with DC Studios. At one time, Abrams was at work developing a Justice League Dark franchise and a Constantine reboot. However, all of these projects were reportedly scrapped in early 2023 as part of DC Studios’ reorganization. Abrams is not believed to be working on anything for DC Studios at this time.
What The WB Suspensions Mean
It is important to note that none of these creators are losing their jobs. When a contract is suspended, there is still a possibility of it being picked up again later. This is known as suspend-and-extend. Should the current WGA strike be settled before the contracts are terminated, the creators will have the lost time added to their contract.
Warner Bros. has yet to terminate any contracts with any producers at this time. This is a possibility, however, and the major studios did terminate several major production deals during the 2007-2008 WGA Strike. Historically, the studios prefer to stick with suspensions, which do not require them to pay producers during the duration of the strike.
