‘Walking Dead’ spinoffs, ‘Interview With the Vampire’ can resume with actors’ union approval

LOS ANGELES — A pair of spinoffs of “The Walking Dead” and the next season of “Interview With the Vampire” can resume production despite the ongoing Hollywood strikes after reaching an agreement with the actors’ union. The approval was granted Wednesday because the cable channel AMC and production company Stalwart Films are not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — the coalition of studios the actors are striking against — though they are what’s known as “authorized companies” that abide by the contracts reached by the AMPTP. And the deal will allow actors to do post-production work on the first season of “The Walking Dead: Those Who Live.” No new writing will be allowed on the series because the Writers Guild of America, in perhaps the most significant divergence in strategy with the actors union, has opted not to grant any such agreements. SAG-AFTRA’s tactic of granting interim agreements — which have been given to hundreds of films and shows produced outside the major studios so long as they grant actors the terms the union asked for in their last offer before the strike began July 12 — has drawn objections from many union members who feel they’re undermining their objectives.