The Tony Awards Will Not Be Televised Following WGA Strike Waiver Rejection

Theatre's biggest night is about to go dark: news has just broken via The Hollywood Reporter that the 76th Annual Tony Awards, which were set to take place on June 11, 2023, will no longer air via streaming or broadcasting. The news comes in the wake of the ongoing Writers' Guild of America strike, which affects film and television writers — like the kind who would write a telecast for an award show.

Apparently, the decision not to air the show is less a voluntary show of solidarity and more an adherence to WGA guidelines, as the Tony Awards Management Committee apparently applied to the WGA for a waiver allowing the show to continue, and was denied. According to THR, members of the Committee cited the importance of a live show to help boost ticket sales on Broadway, where ticket sales have reportedly failed to bounce back in the wake of the pandemic.

The WGA apparently rejected the waiver, meaning the team working on the Tonys will have to make tough choices like those that have already been made by MTV, which canceled the live airing of its MTV Movie & TV Awards after host Drew Barrymore stepped down to support the WGA and a threatened picket loomed. The Critics Choice Association, meanwhile, indefinitely postponed its inaugural celebration of LGBTQ+ film and television. According to THR, the committee behind the Tonys is contemplating a choice between two similar moves: postponement until the strike is resolved, or an in-person ceremony that doesn't air on television.

The outlet notes that two groups that are closely tied to the Tonys may have competing interests in the matter, as The American Theatre Wing is open to the delay while representatives of the Broadway League are reportedly concerned that a delay will negatively impact ongoing productions that thrive on that shiny "Tony winner" banner. "West Side Story" star Ariana DeBose was set to host, while the Tonys were set to air on CBS and stream on Pluto TV in about a month.

While the theater industry's post-COVID financial woes are certainly real, it makes sense that the WGA would reject a waiver given that CBS is owned by Paramount, one of the companies on the opposite side of the bargaining table as the WGA in an ongoing fight over fair pay, limitations on AI usage, and more. The WGA contract's official website indicates that the "performance of writing services for or delivery of literary material to struck company" is against strike rules. So any writing done for the live telecast by WGA members would essentially be considered crossing the picket line, just as it would on other live shows that have shut down, like "Saturday Night Live."

The Tony Awards Management Committee is reportedly holding an emergency meeting Monday morning to determine the next steps for the award show.