Apple agrees to deal that will keep 'Tehran' filming despite actors' strike

The actors' union SAG-AFTRA has agreed on a waiver for Apple TV+ thriller "Tehran" to continue filming as normal, as the strike enters its second week.

On July 13, 2023, the members of the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike. The Writers' Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike for almost three months, and together the unions have caused film and television production to halt.

However, SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers to a number of productions, allowing them to continue to film. The waiver is specific to SAG-AFTRA actors, so it does not cover any writing duties, but productions can continue to shoot if they qualify for a waiver, and if they agree to conditions.

While there are other exceptions for low- and micro-budget productions, others must sign an agreement that effectively says they will be bound by what arrangements are agreed with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) after the strike.

Curiously, "Tehran" should not qualify. SAG-AFTRA's waivers are for independent productions, specifically ones that are not being made by companies that are part of the AMPTP.

Apple TV+ is a member of the Alliance, but according to Deadline, it may have qualified for a waiver because of the origins of "Tehran." While Apple TV+ commissioned a third season of the show, the first two were made for and aired on an Israeli TV network before Apple bought the rights to screen it.

Separately, Reuters is reporting that filming is continuing on the Apple TV+ Formula One movie. It had previously been reported that the film's production was shut down, but F1 champion and film co-producer Lewis Hamilton says this isn't true.

It appears that while the cast are presumably following union rules and not working, the movie is shooting racing footage at the Hungaroring Grand Prix.

"Fortunately for us you can see the team is here, APX is here, and we're still filming luckily with the drivers that we have," Hamilton told press at the Hungaroring on Thursday. "So hopefully we can continue to still get some important parts of the filming done."