Writers, Hollywood studios reach tentative deal to end months-long strike
The Writers Guild of America says they have reached a tentative agreement with the major studios on a three-year contract
Aux News The Bear
After 146 days, the Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative agreement to end their work stoppage against the major Hollywood studios. WGA leadership emailed strike captains Sunday night informing them of the news, saying the agreement was “subject to drafting final contract language.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the provisional three-year agreement still needs to be ratified by WGA members to take effect. Specifics of the deal have not been publicly shared yet.
Representatives from both the WGA and AMPTP sat down for a series of talks over the past week that seemed to signal a potential end to the nearly five-month stalemate. The meetings were also attended by studio heads Bob Iger (Disney), David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery), Donna Langley (Universal), and Ted Sarandos (Netflix).
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the guild said in the email to membership (via the Los Angeles Times). “What remains now is for our staff to make sure everything we have agreed to is codified in final contract language. And though we are eager to share the details of what has been achieved with you, we cannot do that until the last “i” is dotted. To do so would complicate our ability to finish the job. So, as you have been patient with us before, we ask you to be patient again — one last time.”
According to Puck News’ Matthew Belloni, the WGA governing boards first have to endorse the deal—which will happen on Tuesday, given Monday’s Yom Kippur holiday. It will then take two to three weeks for voting materials to be distributed to the membership, at which point they will vote to approve it.
Months of uncertainty
The WGA officially put their pencils down on May 2. This walkout marked the guild’s first large-scale work stoppage since the strike of 2007-2008, and now looks to clock in as its second longest, following a 154-day picket in 1988.
The strike has, in large part, surrounded writers’ concerns with protection from AI and declining residuals in the streaming era. As studios posted record profits, the artists behind those big bags of money experienced less job security and less cash flow. Since the last strike some 15 years ago, streaming has rapidly transformed the industry, while writers largely did not see a change to their contracts.
In a report by The A.V. Club, The Bear writer Alex O’Keefe detailed his experience working on a massively successful series, but still not having financial security. “I have friends who believe, ‘Oh, Alex worked on The Bear, Alex is rich now. Alex can buy a car.’ And you know, I’m not. I’m broke,” he said. “[When] I won the WGA Award for The Bear for Outstanding Comedy Series, I had a negative bank account. My suit was bought by my family and friends, and my bowtie was bought on credit. All that glitters is not gold.”
Writers have also sought changes to the extremely unpopular “mini room” model, which shrinks traditional writers’ rooms and employs fewer staffers for less time.
Still, Hollywood production is not just going to bounce back now that the WGA strike is over. SAG-AFTRA is still picketing. But the end of the writers strike could signal a willingness on the part of the studios to finally bring a painful moment in Hollywood to an end.
This story has been updated with a statement from the Writers Guild of America.
60 Comments
Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher must feel pretty stupid right now.
Drew barrymore is a risk taker she knew her chances
Yeah, Maher put the stop to his show coming back because he thought they were close to a deal, so yeah, I guess he might feel stupid, but I’m not sure why, beyond the fact that I think he’s stupid.
I don’t think Bill Maher is capable of feeling stupid.
“If I wanted to feel stupid I’d get married!”
I’d marry Drew Barrymore!
Specifics of the deal have not been publicly shared yet.
Let the rumor mill run wild!
I hope they got at least one head on a pike
– Writers will benefit from much higher residual payments from streaming.
– Batgirl will finally see release.
– Bob Iger has to work at least 25 full shifts at Disney World in an air-tight Buzz Lightyear costume.
– One lucky writer gets to remove David Zazlav’s veneers with a pair of pliers (to be determined by lottery).
It’s awful that I know some of these are fantasies, but all of them could be.
Shit I’d lose the rest if I got the chance to fuck Zaslav up
– AIs will be allowed to scripts, but in order for the stories to be meaningful they will be designed to feel pain.
I don’t expect it to be part of the deal, but a true way to measure streaming data would be great (both for the industry and for fans). Netflix’s “235 million minutes of this show were streamed last month!” is the most useless metric I’ve ever seen.
How about: “23 million people finished Episode 5 of ‘Suits’ this week,” so we can try our best to compare Nielsen numbers apples-to-apples and pay people what they’re worth.
the increased sweatiness of how numbers read is a real problem, even if they’re accurate. i saw something on io9 about how the little mermaid was watched 16 million views in its first five day and like…is that supposed to be impressive? i imagine it is, but it’s so far removed from anything tangible i have no reaction.
It might be less of a concern now that Netflix is cracking down on password sharing, but I’m still not convinced # of people watched a thing is a very good metric either. Because what does that actually mean? How many of those people are part of a household with multiple sub-accounts? How many of those people are actually groups that came over to watch it? How many of those people left the TV on and left the room?It’s never really mattered as long as one view equaled one ticket, one rental, or one broadcast – something with a specific revenue attached to it. But with streaming, the provider gets paid once a month, and then the user can watch a million things, or one thing a million times, or nothing at all. The problem is that no matter how you calculate how many people watch a thing, those people and even their individual views aren’t all equal. I don’t think that there is ever going to be a good metric to compare with Nielsen ratings. It would almost be like trying to convert box office numbers into Nielsen ratings.
But all those same issues about how many people are watching, did someone leave the room, etc. are prevalent with normal TV too. Nielsen tracks it nonetheless
I would argue that’s because it was a limitation on Nielsen’s end that everyone just accepted. And the problem of how you weigh one viewer who watches a lot of stuff versus another user who keeps their subscription active but only watches one or two things a month doesn’t really have a precedent from normal TV.
What exactly is the plan then if this new deal is only for 3 years. Both sides reload in the next 3 years for another strike? Seems like a armistice more than a deal.
AI will be much better by then. It will be a much bigger issue in the next negotiation.
Each side will have their own AI to perform the negotiations.
3 years is the standard for these contracts.
Excellent news.
Rumor is Ted Sarandos is a big reason why the studios went back to a deal. He was running out of shows.
Aren’t we all?
Ha. He has all the Korean and Spanish shows that aren’t on strike in his catalog.
I had a feeling that the strikes would end in the fall. I figured (well, hoped) that the upcoming mostly reality show network season would be a huge ratings disaster, forcing the TV execs to run screaming back to the negotiation table and/or causing some dissention between the TV execs and studio heads. Maybe that is what will bring an end to the actors’ strike.
I was hoping similar things, as I’m not a fan of “reality” shows in any case.But I also figured the TV big wheels would be satisfied enough with even mediocre ratings on their “reality” shows, since they’re allegedly much cheaper to churn out.It’s the same sort of mindset of many other corporate execs, i.e. the quality of the product doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s cheap enough to make.
Don’t you mean reruns of reality shows? Which let’s be honest was already happening to some extent BEFORE THE STRIKE( I’m looking at you Naked and Afraid XL!).I thought that I read somewhere (Heck it might have been on this very site!) that the reality show stars formed a guild of their own and joined the SAGAFTRA and are receiving their protection and are striking as well.
The reality star union was an idea floated by Bethany Frankel, but isn’t close to happening anytime soon.
i don’t watch reality shows, but if they made a reality show about reality tv stars forming a union, i’d tune in.
As soon as they saw the promos for Snake Oil, they knew it was time.
Might be simpler than that – all the execs that go on summer vacation didn’t want to deal with it and then got back and had to. Not dissimilar to what happens in Congress. They fuck off on long vacations and then pull a couple long sessions when they’re back to make it seem like they’re working.
There have been stories throughout the strikes of execs either in the room or putting their foot in their mouths in interviews. They definitely haven’t all been on summer vacation.
There was a strike?
I hope this gives everyone a Quantum of Solace.
I can’t tell you how much I love this joke.
I declare you winner of the comments
I can’t wait to find out what the deal is, especially with regards to AI. Hopefully it’s robust enough to hold off developments for the necessary time for studio heads to lose interest in this shiny new toy and move on.
How long are the contracts usually for? This is for 3 years, which doesn’t seem like a long time (I’m assuming pushed by the studios, to be able to push for AI stuff in the near future, but maybe the contracts have always been this short?)
AMPTP/Guild contracts are usually for three years. That gives them the chance to respond to rapid changes in the industry.
at the beginning of the strike, i read some rant that praised the strikes and lamented the fact that musicians hadn’t done the same when drum machines came on the market, and many drummers (and eventually bass players) lost their livelihoods for their failure to adapt to the “new industry.”
it was an…uh, interesting take, to say the least. but the unintentional takeaway: never underestimate technology, particularly the ones that initially end up as commercial failures.
Well I guess I’m not going to hear any more podcasts dedicated to talk show hosts teasing Jimmy Fallon for being a dipshit.
I’m not sure that all the shows will come back with the actors on strike. They could have non-actors come on, or have actors that aren’t promoting their work. Colbert and the Daily Show will probably go heavy with politicians, but the others usually have actors as the lead guest every night.
I say they bring in interesting people from the community. Snake Guy or Viral Gyro Cart Owner would be real hits.
True. I guess there will still be space for Fallon to have a survey of talk show wives thwarted by his alcohol-induced dyslexia.
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Is there a reason people are assuming the studios caved and not the union?
The union is spinning it and the studios have no incentive to claim victory before the rank-and-file vote. I doubt the union got everything they wanted.
Not in the industry so honestly asking – is the three year duration of the agreement as disappointing as it sounds or is that just normal? The strike lasted for just under 5 months and it would suck for the WGA to need another one in three years.Regardless, interested in details and happy it’s close to resolved. Hopefully SAG follows shortly after and we can get productions moving again.
Yes, 3 years is the standard length, and most contracts get renewed without much issue. In general, it is bad practice to have contracts that are longer than 3-5 years in almost any industry, as they will benefit the ownership while those on the earning side want regular updates. It allows a lot more flexibility for the union to adjust to changes in technology, the economy, or other outside factors. It also gives them the chance to close the loopholes that every ownership group tries to include & exploit. It would be terrible for the WGA-SAG if AI started getting utilized, some change in streaming happens, or another unpredicted change in tech occurs while they have 6 years left on a deal.
Three years is the standard contract length for Hollywood unions.
That first day back at work is gonna be weird. “Sorry I said you should lose your house.” “Yeah, well sorry I called you the spawn of satan on my picket sign”
It’s not like David Zaslav is stopping by the writers’ room of House of the Dragon. The writers’ immediate bosses are the showrunner on House of the Dragon, and those people can say (correctly) that they didn’t really have anything to do with the negotiations here.
In terms of the writers room, I don’t think the studios are properly understanding that they are shooting themselves in the foot here. For a pretty small sum of money, you are nurturing your future show runners and creatives. Having “Stranger things” written by the Duffer Brothers and a single extra writer each season just means you aren’t getting anyone from that show to learn and grow and make your next hit later on. Like, love him or hate him, Chuck Lorre wrote for a lot of TV writer rooms before making his first hit on his own. And his writers rooms on the shows he’s created have helped others develop their own shows in the future (Mrs Davis co-creator wrote for both Big Bang and Young Sheldon).
Shhhh, don’t remind them that there are not actors right now
New episode of Last Week Tonight yet? Fuck. Maybe tomorrow.