Former Law & Order: SVU showrunner Warren Leight reflects on how the strike negotiation timeline could possibly result in 13-episode network seasons.
A former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showrunner has offered a timeline where a 13-episode fall season could be a possibility. At the time of writing, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) since May, and they were joined by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) in July. Issues at the center of the strike for both unions include fair pay, more transparency in streaming ratings, and the regulation of AI.
Warren Leight, who was Law & Order: SVU’s showrunner for seasons 13-17 and 21-23, took to his official Twitter account and laid out a possible way for network television shows to return this fall with 13-episode seasons if the rumors are true about negotiations going well with the AMPTP. Check out his Tweets below:
1/3 Rumors are flying that a deal is imminent. Who knows… but IF, somehow, the WGA and the AMPTP could come to an agreement by month's end, and if SAGAFTRA could come to one by October's end… a 13 episode network season could still be saved…
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) September 21, 2023
Leight indicated that the current writing team behind the long-running crime procedural could potentially turn around a shorter season to run during the Fall 2023 schedule if the WGA come to a deal with the AMPTP before the end of September, though notes SAG-AFTRA getting a deal “by October’s end” is just as important.
1/3 Rumors are flying that a deal is imminent. Who knows… but IF, somehow, the WGA and the AMPTP could come to an agreement by month's end, and if SAGAFTRA could come to one by October's end… a 13 episode network season could still be saved…
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) September 21, 2023
2/3 Writers – once hired – would need less than the normal 5 or 6 weeks of lead time to start the season, since they'd "only" be doing 13 episodes. If, instead of the traditional 2 week unpaid Christmas break, everybody agreed to one week (to make up for all the lost work)…
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) September 21, 2023
Leight detailed in two more tweets how this shorter schedule could work, indicating that cast and crew would have to agree to a one-week unpaid Christmas break instead of the normal two weeks “to make up for all the lost work”, which in turn could lead to roughly half of a shortened season being filmed before the new year. The former showrunner ended his thread by declaring that a 13-episode season is “actually doable”, and believing the recent negotiations between the guilds and the AMPTP could be partially due to studios wanting to get their shows back on track.
Could This Strike Timeline Work for Law & Order: SVU?
Leight’s timeline for the strikes could indeed work, if the chips fall correctly. However, the ongoing strikes could very well drag on even longer, with some estimating they could stretch into the New Year. This could prevent even 13-episode seasons from becoming feasible, stretching out the wait even longer after the Law & Order: SVU season 24 finale’s airdate of May 18.
If the end of the strikes does come in a timely manner, it would be possible for at least some series to follow the model Leight lays out. A similar schedule played out last time there was a major writers strike in 2007. The timing of that strike made it so that production had to stop midseason, with writers scrambling to fill out a smaller slate of episodes after striking a deal, leading to short seasons such as the 15-episode 30 Rock season 2, the 11-episode Scrubs season 7, and even the 19-episode Law & Order: SVU season 9.
That said, in the 2007 case, only the WGA was on strike. Because SAG-AFTRA would still be on strike if the WGA negotiates a deal, producers may be skittish about scripts for shows that still don’t have casts available. Network procedurals have reasonably evergreen storylines, so scripts could potentially be written without the confirmation that the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cast would be able to return in a timely manner. They would likely only have to be slightly rewritten to reflect a later production date should there be delays, which could make the risk worth it in this case.
