Star Trek Writer Speaks Out on the WGA Strike
Image: Unsplash, WGAE, WGAW.
MAY 9, 2023 – The strike by the Writer’s Guild of America has been underway for a week now, and while it is not yet clear how it will specifically affect the Star Trek franchise, one Star Trek writer has spoken out about some of the issues involved.
Bill Wolkoff talked with WBUR’s Here and Now last week shortly after the strike began. Wolkoff likened the market for television and film writers to a “gig economy” in which “we work maybe ten to twenty weeks a year and have to string together gigs and are constantly scrambling in order to find a job.” He said that writers’ presence has been minimized in the new streaming environment and the resulting system is unsustainable.
As Star Trek fans and fans of other shows wait to see how their favorite series might be delayed or otherwise impacted by the strike, Wolkoff was up front that “that is part of the effect of a strike. The quality of TV and of movies will diminish quite a bit.”
Wolkoff is hopeful that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with whom the WGA establishes labor agreements, will come back to the bargaining table but “we’re gonna be out there marching until they do.”
Wolkoff co-wrote episodes three and six of season one of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Ghosts of Illyria” and “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach.”
To listen to the full interview, head over to WBUR.
David is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. He is a librarian, baseball fan, and book and movie buff. He has also written for American Libraries and Skeptical Inquirer. David also enjoys diverse music, but leans toward classical and jazz. He plays a mean radio.
