The Writers Guild of America Tuesday announced its decision to end its strike after agreeing to a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers earlier this week, ending a 148-day-long work stoppage that has crippled productions across the industry.
After more than 100 days, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and ... [+]
The leadership of the WGA West and the WGA East unanimously voted to end the strike at 12.01 a.m. PT Wednesday, allowing writers to return to work, and recommend the agreement reached withe studios.
The tentative deal will have be ratified by the union’s members who will be able to vote on it from October 2 to October 9.
Writers were pushing for streaming residuals and protections against the threat of AI in the film industry.
The two sides got close to an agreement during negotiations Wednesday, CNBC reported, noting that if a deal wasn’t reached the strike could have lasted until the end of the year.
The WGA has been on strike since the beginning of May, with SAG-AFTRA, the actors guild, joining the writers in mid-July. Both guilds have similar requests: they’re seeking higher residual payments for work done on streaming platforms, as well as protections in their contracts involving AI. The unions have argued the streaming era has diminished earning opportunities for writers and actors, as re-runs on broadcast television would earn them residual payments, but reruns on streaming platforms do not, while shorter and less frequent seasons on streaming compared to traditional network TV have also eaten into earning potential. Writers are also concerned that the growth in AI could mean their jobs get replaced by the burgeoning technology, while actors are concerned the technology could use their likenesses without their consent. Together, the strikes have shut down production on most scripted TV shows, and many major movie productions. When the writers guild met with the studios earlier this week, it was the first time the two sides had met since mid-August.
A number of celebrities—particularly talk show hosts who have fewer WGA writers on their staff—have come under fire in recent weeks for attempting to bring back their shows. Drew Barrymore, who hosts her own syndicated talk show, initially planned to bring her show back without writers but in compliance with strike rules. A few days later she announced she was pausing the show’s return, saying she has “no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt.” After similar backlash, HBO talk show host Bill Maher paused production on his show Real Time earlier this week, citing recent momentum at the negotiating table as his reasoning. Some talk show hosts who do not employ WGA writers have returned to air amid the strike, including Live! With Kelly and Mark, Tamron Hall and Sherri.
It’s unclear how much longer the SAG strike will continue now that the writers strike has been resolved.
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Drew Barrymore Backtracks: Talk Show Paused Until Hollywood Strikes End After Union Criticism (Forbes)
Talk Shows By Bill Maher And Drew Barrymore Are Returning—But Are They Breaking Strike Rules? (Forbes)