A ‘firehose of announcements of projects and casting’ is now expected.
Speculation that The US Office may return has been ignited by the news that Hollywood writers have reached a “tentative” deal to end their months-long strike.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is the longest to have hit Hollywood in decades and has lasted since the start of May.
It, along with the separate and ongoing Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strike, has halted most US movie and TV production.
To learn more about the reasons for the WGA strike, read JOE’s explainer right here.
However, the writers’ strike could be coming to an end soon as the guild confirmed that it has reached a “tentative agreement” with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group that represents major studios and streamers including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery/HBO.
That said, WGA members must still have a final say and the leadership and union members will need to agree to a three-year contract with the AMPTP before they return to work.
The guild has confirmed it is not yet calling off the strike, but stated that it was “as of today, suspending WGA picketing”.
The WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement. This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who stood with us for over 146 days. More details coming after contract language is finalized. #WGAStrike pic.twitter.com/GBg2wZBwGB
— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) September 25, 2023
The US Office reportedly set for reboot following lifting of writers strike
If the deal with the WGA is finalised and the AMPTP come to an agreement with SAG-AFTRA, it could mean that a reboot of the US version of The Office may be in motion.
Writing for Puck News, Matthew Belloni and Jonathan Handel suggested that the movie and TV industry is about to see “a firehose of announcements of projects and casting that have been held back for fear of bad optics or violating guild rules”.
“Greg Daniels is set to do a reboot of The Office, for instance. Disney’s Dana Walden will finally be able to announce the return of her BFF Ryan Murphy from Netflix. A ton of high-profile movie scripts will come in. The industry will chug back to normal,” the pair wrote.
Speaking about a potential reboot of The US Office, Daniels – who adapted the original UK version for the US – told Collider last year:
“I don’t think it would be the same characters. I think it would just be sort of like an extension of the universe, you know what I mean, like the way [The] Mandalorian is like an extension of Star Wars. But I don’t know if that would be something people would want or not, it’s hard to tell.”
Meanwhile, an Australian version of The Office is in the works at Prime Video.
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