Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna Once Again Lament Lack of Transparency in Streaming Data Amid Dual Strike While Celebrating ‘Andor’s Emmy Nominations
Andor is enjoying some more well-deserved time in the spotlight, this time thanks to its eight Emmy nominations which were just announced this week. Better yet, the show earned a nomination for the Emmys’ highest honor, the Outstanding Drama Series Award, which showrunner Tony Gilroy celebrated in a recent set of interviews.
However, Andor, like the rest of the entertainment industry, has been deeply affected by the ongoing WGA strike and the just-called SAG-AFTRA strike. Gilroy stressed earlier this year that all the scripts for the second season were finished before the WGA strike began, which is key because Gilroy has stopped working on the show altogether to support the striking writers. What the actors’ strike means for principal photography of season 2 remains to be determined, given that it’s filming in the UK where other productions from American companies like House of the Dragon or Industry are allowed to continue filming. (Check out our breakdown of what the new strike means for Star Wars here.)
Now, the Andor showrunner has given his thoughts about the show’s recent Emmy recognition as well as the importance of the strikes. He spoke with several major entertainment publications including Deadline, IndieWire, and Entertainment Weekly (note that all interviews took place before SAG-AFTRA announced their stoppage). He simultaneously expressed his gratitude for the nominations as well as his opinions on the present crisis.
Speaking to Deadline, Tony Gilroy didn’t mince words. As he sees it, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA must win in order to ensure the long-term well-being of the entire industry:
“I think this is the existential battle that I thought we were having in 2007. To my great disappointment we settled that strike prematurely. I think those problems were deferred. I think there are structural problems that need to be repaired.
“I think SAG and the Writers Guild are trying to preserve our industry. In such a strange way, we’ve become the creators and the interpreters, the creative community are becoming the protectors of this industry, this huge industry that people love. And the caretakers on the other side, I think they’re being recklessly careless.”
When talking to IndieWire, Gilroy reiterated his stance on the matter of opacity when it comes to streaming viewership data:
“I’m getting used to the fact that I’m not in charge of everything in the world that’s happening. I’m just taking the changes as they come and I’m really hoping that the WGA and SAG can hold firm and save this industry that we love so much. I hope that the creative community can do what the business community in Hollywood seems to be failing to do, which is to try to preserve something amazing that’s been one of the great industries in American culture.”
Streaming services are notoriously secretive regarding the ratings for their shows, even their most popular ones. Even though Gilroy is the showrunner for Andor, he doesn’t know how many people are watching it:
“One of the central issues of this entire labor experience is that I don’t have any idea what the audience is. We don’t know what that is, and I think that the obscurity of data doesn’t help anyone. Really. I think it looks like low-hanging fruit and easy profitability for certain corporations, but in the end it just crushes any kind of free market. It crushes the economics of the business, it means people are being overpaid and underpaid and never properly paid. It means that productions are overloaded with expenses up top because what used to be commonly residuals and royalties now have to be front loaded. I think it’s distorted and warped and is close to ruining this amazing industry. So I wish I knew how many people watched, I wish I knew who they were, and I’m not sure that that’s possible.”
Still, while the present situation in Hollywood is rather severe, Tony Gilroy still took some time to express his gratitude for Andor‘s Emmy nominations:
“I know that there’s spots where – we have no actors and I think our cast is amazing, everybody thinks it – but somebody just asked me if there was one award that [means] the most and I just think that the fact that we’re one of the top shows, that nomination is for everybody in our entire community. And it’s an enormous community of people at Pinewood. I hope they’re all taking pride in that today…
“I’m doing this today to say thank you, and I’m hoping this doesn’t come off as a promotional idea. We just really want to say thank you and stress our appreciation to the voters and audience. It’s also a chance to really speak about the strike a little bit and how much we support it even as we’re being impacted by it.”
Indeed, the near-unanimously positive reception for Andor took quite a few of its cast and writers by surprise. Speaking to EW, series lead Diego Luna said:
“That doesn’t happen often, where you can be part of something you really believe in that also becomes successful. That equation doesn’t happen often in life, where what you care about and put everything into also happens to connect with others. And this show has connected in so many ways.”
Gilroy added:
“We made that first season through COVID, sort of hiding in Pinewood [Studios], without focus groups or any real audience. By the time it was released, we were really curious what people were going to say. The last 10 months have been a pretty solid affirmation of all the hard work that a lot of people put into it, and this is just another chapter in that feel-good process.”
Andor‘s first season was consistently well-received throughout its 12-episode run. However, the prison arc on Narkina 5 was particularly acclaimed. That arc’s final installment, One Way Out, is responsible for one of the show’s eight Emmy nominations, in this case for Outstanding Writing. In that episode, Cassian and his fellow inmates instigate a revolt against their Imperial captors. Given the situation regarding the present Hollywood strikes, that storyline seems especially topical.
The parallels certainly weren’t lost on the show’s creator and lead actor. Tony Gilroy commented:
“What does Andy Serkis Say? I’m paraphrasing, but he basically says, ‘If we can fight as hard as we’ve worked, we’re gonna win.’ I know this word is overused, but this really is an existential moment. I’m really hoping that wiser heads prevail. This has to get resolved to save this industry.”
Luna agreed, adding:
“It’s difficult to talk about the future of the show without having to talk about the future of our industry. I really hope things get solved and that the demands and needs get listened to, and that we soon wake up in an industry that is healthy and moving forward together.”
While it’s great to see that Andor and other Star Wars television shows are being recognized for their artistic achievements, it’s distressing that actors and writers are being forced to go on strike to ensure their concerns are taken seriously. We here at Star Wars News Net stand in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, and we hope that their demands are met as swiftly as possible.
You can head over to Deadline, IndieWire, and Entertainment Weekly for Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna’s full comments.
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he's not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he's often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.
