Banijay Group, the current rights holders for Totally Spies, have decided to not bring back Jennifer Hale, Katie Griffin and Andrea Baker, the original voice cast of the main trio (Sam, Alex and Clover) for the revival seasons because they didn't want to pay union rates. All the original voices are very disappointed by this decision, especially the superstar voice actress Jennifer Hale, who voices Sam and Mandy, who has been very vocal about this situation. Banijay is a company that has more than enough money to pay union rates for animation voice acting, since they make a yearly income of €3.32bn (US$3.63bn). Not to mention that Warner Bros. Discovery are partnering with them for the new seasons, who made a yearly revenue of US$41.32bn in 2023, so both companies clearly have the money to pay for the original cast. These original voices have been with the series for over two decades and to get rid of them this far in is such a huge kick in teeth for them and the English-speaking fans of the show.

This doesn't just have to do with Totally Spies though. Numerous other media properties over the years have have been victim to this scummy trend also. It's part of the reason SAG-AFTRA/ACTRA went on a huge strike last year. Unions are there for the sake of giving workers fair pay and good working conditions, and should be standard the world over. If one company decides to go non-union just for the sake of saving a bit of cash, it will enable other companies to follow suit. It's an inhumane trend that needs to stop. If companies just pay unions then everyone will be happy

Thankfully Banijay hasn't released the English version of the seventh season yet, so if we act now then maybe our voices can be heard. They could just delay the release and make a new English-version with it's original cast, no matter how long it takes. At least it would be for the better rather than worse.