Here's Exactly How SAG Strike Will Affect Bridgerton Season 3
Brace yourselves, the Bridgerverse famine is upon us.
Mere hours remain until the deadline for a potential actors' strike, which could erupt if a fair deal is not reached between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by 11:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday, July 12.
While the Bridgerton cast is technically made up of British actors, there is no doubt that they will join the strike should it begin.
First, all Shondaland productions are SAG-covered. Second, SAG's UK counterpart, Equity, will surely advise its members working on American productions to join the strike if they don't want to commit career suicide in the US. Finally, the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes, has been an active participant in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike since day one and will surely support the SAG.
With that in mind, here's how the SAG strike could affect Bridgerton's upcoming Season 3.
No reshoots
In the event of a strike, SAG will advise actors not to appear on the set of any film or television project, even if it is in the final stages of production. The highly anticipated Bridgerton Season 3 is reportedly finished. But if some rewrites or reshoots become necessary before the premiere, neither the writers nor the actors will be able to do them.
No press
The Bridgerton cast will not be able to participate in any promotional events for the upcoming season, which means no press junkets, promo clips, or interviews. They won't even attend a premiere.
No social media buzz
Even between seasons, Bridgerton manages to maintain a strong social media presence thanks to the efforts of the cast, who often give fans teaser crumbs that help them survive from one official announcement to the next. However, the SAG strike will prohibit the actors from posting anything Bridgerverse-related on their social media.
No 2023 premiere
Considering everything above, the release date of Season 3 could very well be delayed. Despite rumors of a December premiere, Netflix has yet to make an official announcement, and it looks like all the issues could force the producers to push the release date until after the strike, which could last for months.
As a devastating bonus, Season 4 production will definitely be delayed by both the writers' and actors' strikes, pushing its premiere beyond 2024 and probably even 2025 and putting the show's renewal under a big question mark.
But these are all worst-case scenarios, and we can still hope that the unions and the studios will find common ground soon, so the writers and actors can get their fair deals and be back on the job in no time.