AMC strikes SAG-AFTRA deal to allow ‘Walking Dead’ spin-offs & ‘Interview With The Vampire’ to resume production

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

AMC Networks has struck an agreement with US actors union SAG-AFTRA that will allow three shows to restart production.

Interview With The Vampire will resume shooting in Prague, while The Walking Dead spin-offs The Ones Who Live and Daryl Dixon have also been given the greenlight by SAG-AFTRA.

Daryl Dixon’s second season is being shot in Europe, with the first season due to debut next week in the US, while The Ones Who Live is in post.

Why has SAG-AFTRA allowed production to restart?

The three shows have been permitted to restart production by SAG-AFTRA because AMC Studios is not a member of The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

It is a so-called ‘authorised company’, meaning that it agrees to terms struck by the AMPTP, but is not directly affiliated.

SAG-AFTRA has granted such “interim agreements” to more than 300 independent projects, with the proviso that producers are not in negotiation with the AMPTP and meet the union’s most recent proposal to the AMPTP.

SAG-AFTRA has previously approved shows including Apple TV+’s Tehran, because it is being shot in Israel and to meet local labour laws.

While AMC appears to have three of its key shows back on track, there have been few public developments on the writers side of negotiations with the AMPTP this week.

Last week, the Writers Guild of America provided further detail on the recent counteroffer from the AMPTP, describing it as “neither nothing, nor nearly enough”.

US trade Deadline first reported the AMC news.