Why 'House Of The Dragon' Can Keep Shooting During The Strike While Other Shows Can’t

With the SAG-AFTRA Strike now officially two days old, film and TV sets across The United States are shuttering and going dark for an unknown future, as no one is quite sure how long the conflict might last. As part of the union guidelines, actors have stopped doing promotional work, pulled out of conventions and hit up picket lines. Many of the more famous have also released pro-union statements, but on the set of "House Of The Dragon," the cameras will continue to roll thanks to some location-specific technicalities.

Productions in The United States that involve union actors operate under the SAG-AFTRA guidelines. As SAG-AFTRA is striking, that’s effectively put an end to shoots that use members of that guild, but across the pond, productions in The United Kingdom operate under Equity, which has an entirely separate contract and relationship with the major movie studios. Equity has put out a statement saying it supports SAG-AFTRA and shares many of the same issues and concerns, but as its members are not currently striking, everyone involved in those productions is expected to report to work. In fact, according to Deadline, SAG-AFTRA sent a memo to actors involved in those productions telling them they should continue to report.