Showrunner’s meeting with WGA leadership canceled ahead of studio talks – Deadline

Lynette Rice/Deadline

A meeting between a group of leading showrunners including Kenya Barris and Noah Hawley and WGA leadership has been cancelled.

The meeting, which became a hot topic of conversation around Hollywood earlier this week, was postponed after the WGA and AMPTP agreed to hold new talks aimed at ending the work stoppage that has been ongoing since May.

Deadline understands that canceling the meeting, which was scheduled to happen today, was a mutual decision as the guild tries to figure out its plan for its latest standoff with the studios.

Yesterday, the AMPTP and WGA revealed they would set a date for the talks next week.

The two parties are “working to set a date for a meeting next week,” AMPTP said.

“On Wednesday, September 13, the WGA reached out to AMPTP and requested a meeting to move negotiations forward. We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting for next week. Every AMPTP member company is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to work with WGA to end strike.

Not long afterward, the WGA said, “the WGA and AMPTP are in the process of setting a date to return to the chamber.”

The showrunner’s meeting, which was also believed to include Sam Esmail, was not billed as a sign of discontent among the guild, as some had rumored, but rather an opportunity to bring more prominent people into the process as the writers’ strike moves into its fourth month

“This was supposed to be an information session and not intended to provide anything more than assistance,” a source close to the events told Deadline. “That remains the intention so we can all get a fair deal to get back to work.”

The meeting between Parise, Hawley and the union was originally scheduled to take place in West Hollywood on Friday, September 8, then was rescheduled for Monday before being canceled.

The cancellation was less dramatic than some described and was partly due to scheduling issues and also a result of optics. Neither party wanted the group to appear divided, which would play into AMPTP’s attempts to divide the parties, and they mutually agreed to pull the plug before setting a new meeting for this weekend.