Briefs: First writers strike picket line in Atlanta; MomoCon record attendance; ‘Ms. Pat Show’ renewed

Mar 16, 2023

Lamont Ferrell, a writer for shows like "The Parent Hood" and "Moesha," walked the picket lines in 1997 during the last Writers Guild of America strike in Hollywood.

A month into the current strike, he joined other WGA writers Wednesday morning for the first metro Atlanta picket line at Cinelease Studios in Covington. WGA only has about 35 members in Georgia. A handful showed up for this picket line including Brian Egeston, who penned the recent Amazon Prime Dennis Quaid film "On a Wing and a Prayer." Some writers flew in from Los Angeles.

They disrupted the production of "Hysteria!" a new Peacock series starring Julie Bowen, Bruce Campbell and Anna Camp because the Teamsters and IATSE union members refused to cross the picket line.

"A lot of people in cars blew their horns supporting us," Ferrell said. "One person told us to get a job. I told him that's what we were trying to do!"

The writers strike began in early May. The union and the producers have not resumed talks because the producers are currently trying to iron out a deal with the Directors Guild of America and will then negotiate a new deal with the actors in SAG-AFTRA before getting back to the writers. Many insiders think the strike could last well into the summer months.

Writers are seeking greater protections in how productions use them, a better pay system for streaming shows and films and guardrails regarding burgeoning artificial intelligence technology.

Knowing a strike was coming, producers have been more reluctant to greenlight new TV series and business in Georgia has been significantly slower this year than it was a year ago. Some major shows such as ABC's "Will Trent" and "Stranger Things" are not going to start production of their new seasons until the strike is over.

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Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

MomoCon, Atlanta's cosplay/gaming/animé convention, drew 48,000 unique visitors over four days over Memorial Day weekend, the most in its history.

Attendance is up 15% over last year. The convention began as a free event in 2005 and grew to about 10,000 attendees by 2011. It began charging for admission in 2012 and has grown steadily every year. (Due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 conventions were cancelled.)

On Saturday, more than 450 Spider-Man cosplayers gathered at the convention in an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for most Spider-Man cosplayers in one location. They fell short of the record of 600 in one location.

On the final day, the convention gave 600 free tickets to children through a range of Atlanta nonprofits.

MomoCon will be back at the Georgia World Congress Center during Memorial Day weekend of 2024. Early bird registration is open for two weeks with four-day passes available for just $60 at www.momocon.com/registration.

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Credit: BET+

Credit: BET+

BET+'s popular streaming comedy "The Ms. Pat Show" is getting a fourth season.

The show, which stars Atlanta stand-up comic Patricia Williams and is shot locally, is based on her life as a small-town suburban mom who had previously been a drug dealer and convicted felon.

She told Deadline season 4 will not start production until the writers strike ends.

Deadline said Williams has also signed a production deal with BET. She currently has two projects in development: an adult animated series "Krack Babies" and a workplace comedy "Hud."

‘Krack Babies" is a double entendre referencing children that fall through the cracks of the system and is set in 1980s inner-city Atlanta and based on Williams’ childhood stories.

"HUD," she told Deadline, stands for House and Urban Development and follows a team of public servants as they navigate the trials and tribulations of working in that government agency.

"This project came along because when I grew up, my family had Section 8," she said. "One day I was thinking, we’ve been inside hospitals and police departments but nobody has ever shown what it's like HUD. I wanted to show all the work they do to help people get out of the program and better themselves."

She is also doing a stand-up tour that stops at Center Stage in Atlanta Dec. 16. Tickets start at $29 at Ticketmaster.

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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