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HBO boss Casey Bloys had a word or two to say about the ongoing strike during his speech at Warner Bros Discovery Upfront this morning in New York.
Before starting the Max portion of the presentation, HBO and Content Chairman and CEO Max addressed the elephant in the room – how there were no celebrities to help promote the year to come new programs on the platform.
“First of all, let me start by saying that I hope a fair solution will be found soon with writers who would of course bring the talent back to this point,” Bloys said. “Let’s be honest, which makes it a much more entertaining show. Until then, you’re kinda stuck with me and my clips.
He then launched a short reel of clips promoting the new season of sex and the city and a car show featuring Robert Downey Jr.
The HBO chief’s comments came in New York today as a WGA picket lined up outside Madison Square Garden, where WBD is hosting its Upfront.
WGA pickets outside WBD Upfront; Deadline/Peter White
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Unlike some other Upfronts picketed this week, guild members and their supporters weren’t in front of the event. Instead, WGA pickets were placed in front of the legendary arena due to this endless construction in New York. The result is that the picketers were essentially out of sight and probably not even seen by attendees at WBD’s event on Wednesday.
Earlier in the talentless stage presentation, Jon Steinlauf, WBD’s advertising sales manager in the United States, also spoke about the WGA strike. “What you’re about to see isn’t exactly the show we were expecting today,” the executive said. “We made the decision to only have our executives on stage out of respect for our talent and the WGA.”
It was the 16th day of the strike that the guild called on the evening of May 1 after weeks of talks with the studios ended without a new three-year contract for the WGA.
It’s not just HBO and WBD brass who mentioned the WGA strike during today’s Upfront.
In a tweet during the WBD presentation, Conan O’Brien promoted his new international travel show for Max while saying how “I can’t wait to finish it after the writers’ strike.”