Crew Withholds Labor Amid IATSE Contract Dispute

Production has shut down on the Netflix amateur baking show Nailed It! after crew members went on strike in an attempt to gain a first IATSE contract.

The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) announced the work stoppage on Tuesday, tweeting, “This production has yet to negotiate with the IATSE, and we are asking Local 600 members to NOT cross the picket line.” After the strike kicked off Monday evening, the picket line began on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. PT at Quixote Stages in Pacoima. The approximately 50-person crew all went on strike and have been asking management for voluntary recognition. Two union sources said production shut down Tuesday after the strike began.

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Nailed It! is currently in production on its seventh season and has never been an IATSE union show (unlike some other entertainment unions, IATSE allows members to work non-union projects). “There have been brief discussions but no path to a deal yet,” an IATSE spokesperson said when asked for comment. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to production company Magical Elves and distributor Netflix for comment.

The show, hosted by Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres, has aired for six seasons and tasks bakers with little experience with completing ambitious bakes. The show has been nominated for five Emmys, including two in 2021, for outstanding competition program and outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program.

In the spring of 2021, crew members briefly struck another Magical Elves production, Top Chef Family Style, and ended up “flipping” the show and winning an IATSE contract for production and postproduction workers. In 2012, union crew also picketed the NBC reality show Fashion Star due to what an IATSE official then said was a lack of a contract. A few days later, the strike ended when producers and the union reached a deal to offer union members pension and health benefits. Fashion Star, which was canceled in 2013 after two seasons, was produced by Magical Elves as well as Electus, 5×5 Media and the Global Fashion Association.

March 1, 2:20 p.m. Updated with IATSE comment and further context.

March 1, 5:09 p.m. Updated with news of the production shutdown.

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