Major Awards Show Canceled Amid Writers Strike

A major awards show has been canceled amid the current WGA writers' strike. Deadline reports that the 2023 Peabody Awards — which had been set for June 11 in Los Angeles — will not go on as originally planned. Notably, it has been four years since the awards show's last in-person ceremony, back in 2019.

"As an organization dedicated to honoring the most compelling and empowering stories in broadcasting and streaming media, we recognize and respect the position that many of this year's Peabody Award winners find themselves in," the Peabody organization said in a statement. "Due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide, we have decided to cancel the 83rd annual Peabody Awards ceremony that was set to take place on June 11 in Los Angeles. Canceling the ceremony is extremely disappointing as this year's 39 winners are immensely talented and have brought forth powerful stories that deserve to be celebrated."

The Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2 and currently has no end date. The organization represents more than 11,000 Hollywood TV and movie writers. The strike was the result of the WGA not reaching an acceptable agreement after six weeks of wage negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. "Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal – and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains – the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," the negotiating committee wrote in a letter to members, per VOX. "The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing."

Many shows have been impacted by the strike, including all of the late-night talk shows. In a statement on the situation, Late Night host Seth Meyers said, "I love writing. I love writing for TV. I love writing this show. I love that we get to come in with an idea for what we want to do every day and we get to work on it all afternoon and then I have the pleasure of coming out here. No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it's a very reasonable demand that's being set out by the guild. And I support those demands."