Tony Awards becomes latest show disrupted as writers strike enters 3rd week

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The committee that oversees the annual Tony Awards is set to meet Monday to consider what to do now that the Writers Guild of America has denied a requested waiver to allow this year's ceremony to be broadcast as scheduled, according to multiple media reports.

During the emergency meeting, committee members will reportedly consider whether to hand out the awards during a non-televised dinner or news conference or postpone the show until the writers strike is over.

The 2023 Tonys, theater's biggest night, was set to air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on June 11, but the WGA decision has disrupted those plans.

Ariana DeBose, who hosted last year's ceremony, was set to host again but was expected to do so during a scaled-down ceremony, Deadline.com said.

This comes as the Writers Guild of America strike entered its third week. On Monday, writers were expected to continue picketing at Amazon Studios in Culver City, CBS's Studio City lot, Television City, The Walt Disney Co.'s corporate headquarters in Burbank, the Fox Studios lot, Netflix's Hollywood headquarters, Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Sony Studios in Culver City, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. in Burbank.

Over on the east coast, writers were also expected to picket at the upfronts, where networks pitch their fall lineups to advertising groups. The WGA East is in their own talks with the studios. Their contract expires Monday night if no agreement is reached.

There are no upcoming negotiation talks scheduled with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood studios.

The last WGA strike lasted from November 2007 until February 2008. Industry experts estimated the 100-day strike cost the local economy between $2- and $3 billion. With both sides appearing to still be at loggerheads, many observers fear the current walkout could last even longer.

The WGA is pushing for improvements on a variety of fronts, notably for higher residual pay for streaming programs that have larger viewership, rather than the existing model that pays a standard rate regardless of a show's success.

The union is also calling for industry standards on the number of writers assigned to each show, increases in foreign streaming residuals and regulations preventing the use of artificial intelligence technology to write or rewrite any literary material.

The WGA strike, which began May 2, has forced a number of programs to be shutdown, revamped or replaced with reruns. On Sunday, the "MTV Movie & TV Awards" live ceremony was scrubbed in favor of a pre-taped event due to celebrities unwilling to cross WGA picket lines.

City News Service contributed to this report.