2023 writers strike: Stars who have joined the picket lines

Hollywood's striking writers have some major star power behind them.

As the 2023 writers strike continues, a wave of celebrities has shown solidarity, from Drew Barrymore dropping out as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards to Mayim Bialik bowing out of Jeopardy! hosting duties. But many stars have also joined the picket lines in New York and California, either because they are a part of the Writers Guild of America themselves or because they want to support the writers as members of SAG. These are some of the most notable stars to join the demonstrations so far.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk joined a picket line in New York, tweeting a photo of himself at the demonstration and writing, "Let's do this." The Better Call Saul star has a background in writing for shows like Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. "It's a shame that we have to do this, but writers need to be able to pay their bills and live a decent life when they're writing this great material that we're all getting to do and that's providing such entertainment for everyone," Odenkirk told Deadline.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, and Brett Goldstein

Ted Lasso stars, producers, and writers Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt were spotted picketing in California outside of Warner Bros., which produces the Apple TV+ show. Brett Goldstein, who writes for Ted Lasso in addition to playing Roy Kent, also picketed outside the Warner Bros. lot.

"It seems a real shame that all of this stuff that is made is made by writers and there are writers genuinely struggling to afford to live," Goldstein told The Hollywood Reporter. "It just seems insane."

Natasha Lyonne

Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne was seen picketing outside Paramount's offices in Los Angeles. She also worked as a writer on the Peacock show in addition to starring and producing. "I wrote it with so many incredible people, so we've got to take care of the team," she told TMZ.

Pete Davidson and Bowen Yang

Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson was spotted at a picket line in New York, and he delivered pizzas to writers striking in Brooklyn. The comedian was set to host SNL before the rest of the season was canceled due to the strike. "Gotta support the writers, man," he said in a video shared on Twitter. "No shows without the writers."

Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang also picketed outside Netflix's Manhattan offices, where he told The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm really disappointed. We had a few good shows left, I think."

Tina Fey, Fred Armisen, and Seth Meyers

Saturday Night Live alums Tina Fey, Fred Armisen, and Seth Meyers all joined a picket line outside Silvercup Studios in New York City, according to The Associated Press. Meyers and his fellow late-night hosts have been airing reruns during the strike, and he told viewers before it began he feels "very strongly that what the writers are asking for is not unreasonable."

Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe joined a picket line outside Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles. "I came out to support the writers because, as actors, we're only as good as the writing we get," he told Now This, adding that he's "super worried" about how the strike will affect crew members in Hollywood.

Ilana Glazer

Broad City co-creator and star Ilana Glazer joined a picket line outside Netflix's New York office. "We need living wages, our basic needs met, and the writing portion of TV and film has been squeezed and squeezed and squeezed over the last few years and it really shouldn't be surprising to the big studios that the human beings who are creating this content, who are the beating hearts and minds of this behind this art and content want to be treated with basic dignity," she told The Hollywood Reporter.

Rachel Bloom

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator and star Rachel Bloom joined a picket line outside Paramount. "Like they always say: strike while the iron is making $246.6 million a year as the CEO of Discovery," she joked on Instagram.

Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling, the Office alum who co-created Netflix's Never Have I Ever, joined a picket line outside Paramount in California. She also mentioned the strike on Instagram while sharing the trailer for the new season of Never Have I Ever. "If you want to continue to see shows that can make you remember your first crush, or cry about how much you love your mom, the writers who put their hearts on the page need to be paid what's fair," she wrote.

Alex Borstein

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Alex Borstein joined a picket line outside of Walt Disney Studios in California, where she held a sign that read, "Will slay for fair pay!!!"

Ben Schwartz

Parks and Recreation and Sonic the Hedgehog star Ben Schwartz also joined a picket line outside of Disney in California, telling Deadline, "I've been in the WGA for 13 years, and I'm striking so we get fair wages."

Melissa Fumero and Andy Samberg

Melissa Fumero shared a selfie on a picket line with her former Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-star Andy Samberg. "Especially as an actress working in comedy, I need my writers on set," she told Deadline.

Mandy Patinkin

Mandy Patinkin joined a picket line in Manhattan, where he held a sign that referenced his movie The Princess Bride. It read, "You killed residuals prepare to pay!" He also shared a video of himself standing silently, describing this as "what I would be doing on TV without writers."

"Writers are asking for fairness: when the studios invest millions into producing a film or series, they can pay for the value writers create," he tweeted.

Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion joined a picket line outside of Paramount Studios, according to a video shared by SAG-AFTRA. "I'm Nathan Fillion from SAG union here in support of the WGA," he said. "You should be too."

Timothy Simons

Timothy Simons, who played Jonah Ryan on Veep, joined a picket line outside of Netflix in Los Angeles. "I'm striking because I've never said a funny thing without a writer," he told Deadline. On Twitter, he urged his fellow SAG members to "get out on the picket lines with your writers for support!"

Josh Gad

Watch On

Josh Gad joined a picket line outside of Fox Studios in Los Angeles, where he told The Associated Press he was joining writers who are "the reason that I get to work," adding, "We are nothing without their words. We have nothing without them."

Cynthia Nixon

Sex and the City star and former New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon joined a picket line in Manhattan outside Netflix's offices. "It's incumbent on all of us who care about writers, and care about creative television and movies, to come out here and show support," she told Deadline.

Adam Scott and Britt Lower

Severance stars Adam Scott and Britt Lower joined a picket line outside HBO and Amazon's offices in New York on, according to a tweet from SAG-AFTRA. Their co-star Zach Cherry was also spotted on a picket line in New York. Production on the Apple TV+ series was reportedly shut down amid the strike.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda held a "SAG-AFTRA supports WGA" sign on a picket line outside of HBO and Amazon's offices in New York, where he was also joined by Michael Emerson, John Leguizamo, and more. Miranda also brought boxes of donuts to striking writers.

Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney, who noted he is a longtime SAG member, told Deadline from a picket line outside of Paramount Studios that "we're striking because you can hardly make a living anymore."

Quinta Brunson and Lisa Ann Walter

Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of Abbott Elementary, shared a photo of herself on a picket line holding a sign that read, "AI can't write Tariq's raps." Brunson noted on Twitter she is a WGA member and is joining "my union in demanding fair compensation for writers," adding, "This strike also isn't about me, and I don't want to make it about me. It's about all writers :) support the wga. No show or movie you love is written without… writers."

Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter also picketed outside of Warner Bros., which produces the show. "The feeling in this town, and in this country, is behind the unions," she said in a video shared on the WGA's TikTok page. "We are in a new day in America. Unions are going strong."