EXCLUSIVE: Production on Netflix’s Nailed It! Halloween was permanently suspended a day after crew members went on strike to secure a contract with IATSE. The walkout happened midway through filming the eight-episode Halloween arc of Nailed It!‘s seventh season.
The union had been picketing the show’s producers, Magical Elves, in the hope of bringing the company to the bargaining table. Instead, Magical Elves opted to stop production after four episodes. Following some back-and-forth between the indie production company and Netflix, the two sides agreed not to proceed with the additional four episodes. The crew was informed by Magical Elves that production had wrapped and its members were called in to collect their gear Tuesday afternoon.
“I know for sure that it’s shut down,” a union source told Deadline about Nailed It! Halloween! “They’d rather shut down than sign a union contract. They’re notoriously nonunion.”
Reps for Magical Elves did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
The finished four episodes of Nailed It! Halloween! will run on Netflix this coming fall, likely around Halloween.
Netflix would not comment on how they would proceed with future editions of the show.
The baking competition, hosted by Nicole Byer, premiered on Netflix in March 2018 and has received three consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Competition Program and two PGA Awards.
By all accounts, IATSE’s picketing was peaceful. In 2014, Magical Elves was the target of thuggish picketing by members of Boston Teamsters Local 25 on its cooking competition series Top Chef that lead to multiple indictments for extortion. One former leader of Local 25 pleaded guilty, but four others were acquitted after a sensational trial in 2017.
