Writers Strike Continues At 'The Perfect Couple' Set On Cape Cod

CHATHAM, MA — Picketing on the set of "The Perfect Couple" on Cape Cod is continuing for a second day, WGA members confirmed with Patch.

A Writers Guild of America spokesperson told Patch on Tuesday that production on "The Perfect Couple", filming in Chatham, was paused after union members, in support of the writers strike, refused to cross the picket line.

"What we’re all learning is that there’s not only writers guild membership all over the U.S., but union solidarity all over the U.S.," WGA member Celine Robinson said.

Netflix officials didn't return a request for comment on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking from the picket line on Wednesday, Robinson said anywhere from a dozen to over 20 WGA members were present at any given time during the strike.

This includes local members of the writers guild and those like Robinson who traveled from cities like New York to support New England writers.

"This is not because I have any desire to be far from home, this is because we have to show support for our brothers and sisters in New England," Robinson said.

Support from other writers came as no surprise, but Robinson was initially struck by the willingness of other union members to stop at the picket line.

That wasn't the case during the 2007 strike, for instance. But, as Robinson thought more about it, it made sense that the other union workers were supportive in this moment because they understand the importance of the writers.

"Rather than see it as shows skirting around the rules, shows, I think, believe they can do it without writers on set," Robinson said.

Essentially, writers believe it’s hubris from the executives to attempt to run their show without them, and it appears the crews do too, she said.

The Netflix-series adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand's best-selling book includes a cast of Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle and Omar Epps, among others.

Chatham is the venue for much of the filming, with the Cape Cod town transforming into Nantucket, the setting of the book and series.

However, as the production closed in on the final days, writers and WGA supporters from across the country brought the strike to Cape Cod as the guild continues to hear crickets from the other side of the negotiating table.

The writer's strike started on May 2 after six weeks of negotiating with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal, Paramount Plus and Sony, according to the WGA.

Read more: Writers Guild Of America Calls Strike

So why is the strike happening now?

From Robinson's purview, the idea is one that's spread across industries: writers are being asked to do more with less.

Robinson, who spent a number of years working on "Law & Order SVU", explained that writers in the pre-streaming days were consistently paid a middle-class wage with steady employment.

Now, post-streaming, the typical writer's room has shrunk from eight people to four people, and as seasons have dwindled from the 22-episode average to a number closer to 10, so too has the amount of steady work available for writers.

And that's before evening getting to the fears from writers around AI, which Robinson and her colleagues view as an existential threat to their livelihoods.

Robinson doesn't see a typical negotiation happening in this instance, because AI doesn't allow for the "meet in the middle" dynamic to exist, from her perspective. However, it's unclear to union leaders how willing the other side is to have those conversations, as communication has been slim.

"The ball is in their court," Robinson said.