SAG-AFTRA Strike: The Film and TV Projects Approved for Production

With Hollywood’s writers and actors on strike, work at the center of cultural production and entertainment has shut down — but not completely.

Since July 14’s strike notice, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has entered into interim agreements with a select few independent film and TV productions that are willing to meet the union’s terms. 

Here are the projects still rolling during the strike, and why.

Which TV and Film Projects Have Been Greenlit by SAG-AFTRA?

As of July 24, SAG-AFTRA has reached interim agreements with 79 independent productions.

The list includes several movie productions from A24 — like Death of a Unicorne, which stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, and Mother Mary, featuring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel. It also features Dust Bunny, set to star Mads Mikkelsen and queer icon Sigourney Weaver, as well as Bride Hard, starring Rebel Wilson. The Chosen, a crowdfunded TV series about the life of Jesus, also entered into an agreement with the SAG-AFTRA to finish its fourth season.

Here are all 79 projects greenlit by SAG-AFTRA. 

1. Adult Best Friends
2. Aguadilla
3. American Deadbolt
4. American Nightmare
5. Anniversary
6. The Ar Racist
7. Armadilla
8. Beneath the Grass
9. Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
10. Beyond the Walls
11. Bob Trevino Likes It
12. Bootyology
13. Bride Hard
14. Buffalo Daze
15. The Cafone
16. The Chosen
17. Conduit
18. Cuando Volvimos A La Tierra
19. Death of a Unicorne
20. A Desert
21. Didi
22. Don’t Move
23. Dos Lados
24. Dream Devil
25. Dust Bunny
26. Exhibiting Forgiveness
27. F-PLUS
28. Flight Risk
29. Fluxx
30. Friends and Foes
31. From Ashes
32. Ganymede
33. Gray House
34. The Greatest Ever
35. Hal & Harper
36. Ick
37. Isaac
38. Just Breathe
39. King Ivory
40. Leaves of Grass
41. Legend of the White Dragon
42. Mother Mary
43. Mother, May I?
44. Mourning Rock
45. My Valentine Wedding
46. Osiris
47. The Other You
48. Paradise and Lunch
49. Queen of the Ring
50. Return to Wickensburg
51. The Ritual
52. Rivals of Azmiah King
53. Roses on the Vine
54. Sell Out
55. The Short Game
56. Sight Unseen
57. Sod and Stubble
58. The Sound
59. The Summer Book
60. Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)
61. Superthief
62. Tehran
63. The Killer’s Game
64. Til Death … Do You
65. The Tower
66. Transamazonia
67. Underdeveloped
68. The Unknown Country
69. Until He’s Destroyed
70. Untitled Jazzy Project
71. Untitled Rebuilding Project
72. The Watchers
73. Week End Escape Project
74. What She Doesn’t Know
75. When Calls the Heart
76. Wildcat
77. The Wilderness
78. The Yellow Tie
79. Young Claude

Some of the projects above have already finished shooting, but obtained waivers from the SAG-AFTRA so that the actors involved could do promotions for their films.

Why the Interim Agreements?

The SAG-AFTRA strike notice earlier this month meant that the union’s 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, disc jockeys, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, and other media professionals are stepping away from all film and television projects.

They’ve joined members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) at picket lines outside major production studios and have stopped doing any press work for completed projects. In fact, the cast of Oppenheimer walked away from their own premiere the minute the strike was called. 

It’s the first time in 63 years that both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike, and there’s a lot at stake. The interim agreements for the productions listed above don’t mean that the fight for fair pay and protections from AI is any less urgent.

If anything, it’s proof that the union’s very reasonable demands, raised during the failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), are possible.

The production companies working on the greenlit projects above have agreed to abide by the terms outlined in the latest offer submitted by the SAG-AFTRA. If and when a final deal is successfully negotiated with the AMPTP, they will follow the terms set by those, too.

But it’s worth noting that many of the productions above are from smaller organizations like A24, an independent entertainment company that’s given us masterpieces like Everything Everywhere All At Once and exciting TV shows like Beef.

And if small companies can afford to give actors things like wage increases to match inflation, provision for informed consent before using actors’ digital replicas, and success-based compensation for streaming, why can’t AMPTP giants like Amazon, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Apple, and Warner Bros?

SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has said that SAG-AFTRA members are encouraged to participate in the greenlit projects above.

Members of both SAG-AFTRA and WGA have expressed that they are ready to strike for as long as it takes to achieve a fair contract with the AMPTP, and have the support of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It’s not hard, then, to imagine a near future where the only movies able to cross the finish line of production and into theaters are non-AMPTP projects.

What Can the Rest of Us Do?

The faces and voices that entertain the world are on strike, and those of us who enjoy movies, TV shows, and media in general can help in several ways.

But first, something we shouldn’t do: Boycotting movies and TV shows.

A common question that’s come up in recent weeks is whether doing so would be good for solidarity, but neither the WGA nor SAG-AFTRA has called for a consumer boycott — at least, not yet. In fact, Neil Gaiman, who is a member of both unions, has expressed on Tumblr that we shouldn’t boycott.

“It’s not ‘crossing the picket line’ to watch something on a network that we are striking against. (‘Crossing a picket line’ is a very real, specific thing with a real meaning.) I’ve seen it being discussed, but until the WGA calls for it, I don’t suggest doing it,” Gaiman wrote.

Ben Paddon, a writer and actor, added that a boycott may actually hurt striking workers.  “Studios can say, ‘Well, actually, Barbie only made $X dollars, Oppenheimer only made $Y dollars, only so-many thousands of people watched Good Omens 2, obviously there isn’t enough money to go around. Sadface emoji.’” 

What’s on theaters and TV screens right now is content already made, and if it makes money, we’re showing studios exactly the value created by striking workers.

So what can we do?

For starters, it’s a good idea to boost the unions’ message on social media, which is part of solidarity 101. The WGA and the SAG-AFTRA have uploaded social media toolkits with graphics and sample posts you can use.

Those with resources to spare are also invited to donate to the Entertainment Community Fund, a non-profit that supports actors, writers, and entertainment workers like crew members and assistants who may need help paying rent or medical bills during the strike. Donations are tax-deductible, and helps Hollywood’s workers to stay on the picket lines longer.

For updates, follow the SAG-AFTRA on Twitter.

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