Will the Writers Guild of America Strike Affect Bridgerton Season 4?
The short answer is yes, most likely.
The Writers Guild of America went on a strike starting from May 2, as no agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers was reached on the disputed issues, primarily on the issue of residuals from the streaming media. We're now witnessing a repeat of the events of 2007–2008, and it's likely that the film and television industry will be shaken once again.
For most fans, this situation poses just one important question: how will our favorite shows be affected? Bridgerton Season 3 seems to be safe since its production has now practically wrapped up, but the fate of Season 4 remains a mystery.
Unless the strike is over quickly, some sort of impact on the beloved Netflix romantic drama is likely and perhaps even unavoidable. In fact, it's unclear when and how the sides can reach an agreement because, if they could, the strike wouldn't have to begin in the first place. As of now, the industry is grinding to a halt, with a number of productions already shutting down.
The good thing is that Bridgerton is filmed in England, but much of its writing and production are still based in the US. Besides, the British and Canadian writers guilds have already sided with the WGA, so finding strike-breakers would not be easy for producers.
Bridgerton is a very high-profile and massively popular series, so Netflix might have put extra effort to ensure the project has a safety net. It's quite possible — but not guaranteed — that the showrunners have stockpiled scripts in preparation for the strike, which had been brewing for a quite long time.
What's more, we are at the point now where writing for Season 4 should have been well in progress. If there has been enough material prepared, it's possible that the writing process can swiftly pick up from where it ended, so Bridgerton's new installment won't be delayed for long.
Nevertheless, it looks like some delays are inevitable, and the show's production may come to a halt altogether. The WGA strike in 2007–2008 lasted only three months, but the impact on a number of shows was still immense. Also, back then, it wasn't supported internationally, while the current strike is.
Let's hope for a timely resolution of this conflict.