Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar Expelled from WGA, Explained

Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, co-creators and writers for HBO’s The Sympathizer — a seven-episode mini series starring Robert Downey Jr., have been kicked out of the WGA West. Why, you might ask? It’s because they had written the series during the 2023 strikes, a.k.a. when pens were supposed to be down, crossing the picket line. The WGAW also announced a suspension for Anthony Cipriano for writing The Last Breath until May 1, 2026. “Three other members were disciplined for violating the strike rules during the 2023 MBA strike, and those members did not appeal,” the WGAW reportedly told its members, per Deadline. “In each of these cases, the boards decided these disciplines should be made public.” All three former members did not appeal the decisions.

Seven members have been disciplined by the WGAW for breaking strike rules; four of the seven (Julie Bush, Tim Doyle, Edward Drake, and Roma Roth) were named in April 2025 as they had appealed the decisions made by the guild; the last three were Park, McKellar, and Cipriano.