Writers workshop axed as layoffs hit Warner Bros. Television

Warner Bros. Discovery's rolling layoffs have come to its television division, the studio responsible for shows including "Ted Lasso," "Abbott Elementary" and "The Bachelor."

The group on Tuesday disclosed a reorganization that will result in nearly a fifth of staff leaving the company, as parent Warner Bros. Discovery continues to seek cost cuts from the media mega-merger, according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.

The television group, overseen by Warner Bros. Television Chairman Channing Dungey, is slashing 82 current employees and canceling 43 unfilled open positions, for a total headcount reduction of 125. The cuts account for 19% of current staff and 26% of the total group, including the open positions.

The cuts are hitting divisions that include teams responsible for animated, unscripted and scripted shows. Both animation and unscripted encompass more than one studio where roles are being consolidated. In the scripted group, Warner Bros. is canceling two initiatives: Stage 13, a unit focused on short-form digital shows; and the Warner Bros. Television Workshop program, which supported writers and directors. Both units put an emphasis on diverse voices.

Warner Bros. representatives declined to comment.

"These are challenging times in the world at large, and a tumultuous time in our industry," said Dungey in an email to staff. "For this kind of change to hit so close to home is incredibly difficult. But my hope is that these changes, made with an eye to a more focused business strategy, will strengthen and stabilize our company, maintain our great creative output, and better position us for continued future success."

This comes after HBO and HBO Max were struck with job cuts in August. Seventy people on the team led by HBO and HBO Max head Casey Bloys were axed, representing about 14% of his group. Units affected by the cuts included HBO Max’s original reality TV group, which became redundant when HBO Max and the rest of the WarnerMedia companies were merged with Discovery Inc., famous for unscripted shows from Food Network, HGTV, TLC and others. Additional units hit included HBO Max’s international co-productions, casting and the group responsible for acquiring outside content for the service.

Further layoffs are expected at Warner Bros. Discovery, which comprises the Warner Bros. film and TV studio, CNN, TBS, Turner Classic Movies and the various Discovery reality channels. Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav has promised Wall Street $3 billion in cost savings from the merger.

The layoffs also come at a time of significant upheaval for the film and television industry. Media and entertainment companies are coming under pressure to return to sobriety after a period of massive spending to compete with Netflix for streaming video subscribers. The decline of linear TV and the disruption of the theatrical box office also have contributed to anxiety in the industry.

Warner Bros. Discovery has revamped its strategy for competing in the media industry’s march toward the streaming future. The company is looking to bolster its streaming efforts while also supporting its traditional businesses, including cable channels and theatrical movies. To that end, the company canceled a number of shows that no longer fit its goals, including live-action family programming, and mothballed a $90-million "Batgirl" movie, causing much angst amongst filmmakers, showrunners and writers.

Within Warner Bros. Television, among the most notable departures is Brooke Karzen, who is stepping down from her role as head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, the unit responsible for unionized reality show productions including "The Bachelor." The company is combining roles responsible for creative development and programming at Warner Horizon and another unscripted unit, Telepictures, which is responsible for series including the recently premiered "Jennifer Hudson Talk Show." In animated television, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios will consolidate development and production roles.

The demise of Stage 13 and the television writers workshop are noteworthy because they were aimed at developing and amplifying emerging talent, including women and people of color. But Stage 13's focus — short-form content, once the hot new thing in Hollywood — has been subsumed by user-generated videos on TikTok. Existing Stage 13 projects in development will be absorbed by the larger studio.

The television workshop program will close after the 2022-23 class of writers completes the program in April. Warner Bros. would often highlight the workshop as one way in which it was responding to diversity problems in the entertainment industry, especially after the murder of George Floyd prompted calls for greater representation.

But the layoffs that have swept the entertainment industry have led to a culling of initiatives meant to promote inclusion. When Netflix cut positions earlier this year, one of the rounds eliminated roles at social media channels, some of which were meant to highlight diverse programming.

Warner Bros. TV had a strong showing at the recent Emmys, scoring four awards for "Ted Lasso" (airing on Apple TV+), including comedy series; three for Quinta Brunson's "Abbott Elementary" (on ABC), including writing for a comedy; and one for "The Voice" (on NBC).

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.