Key Points
- Writers Guild of America members are on strike after failing to reach an agreement with studios for higher pay.
- Many writers' rooms have shut down during the strike, delaying the production of new episodes of some shows.
- The last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days.
Thousands of film and television writers have gone on strike in the United States, in the first work stoppage to hit Hollywood in 15 years.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents roughly 11,500 writers, said its leadership unanimously supported a strike after failing to reach an agreement for higher pay from studios such as Amazon, Apple, Disney, , and Paramount.
"The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce," the WGA said in a statement."
What could the strike mean for your favourite TV shows?
Why are Hollywood writers striking?
Writers say they have suffered in the streaming TV boom with shorter seasons and smaller residual payments, making it difficult for many to afford to live in expensive cities like New York and Los Angeles.
Half of TV series writers in the US now work at minimum salary levels, compared with a third in the 2013-14 season, according to WGA statistics. Median pay for those at the higher writer/producer level has fallen 4 per cent over the last decade.
"This is an existential crisis for writers," actor and vice chair of the WGA Disabled Writers Committee, Jamey Perry, said.
More than 11,000 Hollywood writers have gone on strike in a dispute over payments for streaming services. Source: Getty / Rodin Eckenroth
"Obviously, none of us wanted this, though. We just want a fair deal. We just want to work."
The WGA is seeking changes in pay and the formulas used to compensate writers when their work is streamed, among other proposals. It estimated the changes would cost about $429 million a year, according to a negotiations summary shared on Twitter and verified by Reuters as authentic.
The WGA wants safeguards to prevent studios from using AI to generate new scripts from writers' previous work, or asking them to rewrite drafts created by AI.
Writers got creative with their picket signs. One read "What would Larry David do?" while another threatened "Pay your writers or we'll spoil Succession.'"
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios, said it had proposed "generous increases in compensation" and was willing to increase its offer.
But it said it objected to WGA demands that "would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not."
Some actors and other workers in the industry turned up to back the striking writers.
"I support the writers because as actors we are only as good as the writing we get," said Rob Lowe, who was picketing with his son, writer and actor John Owen Lowe.
Actor Rob Lowe (left) is among those to come out in support of the striking writers. Source: Getty / Rodin Eckenroth
Which TV shows could be affected by the writers' strike?
Late-night shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show cancelled new episodes and are set to air repeats after being left without their teams of writers to pen timely jokes. Sketch show Saturday Night Live has also been shut down indefinitely.
In Los Angeles, TV production ground to a halt. Film LA, which issues permits for filming in the city, said it had no shoots for scripted shows scheduled for the rest of the week.
Writers for Abbott Elementary, Cobra Kai, and Yellowjackets were among those to confirm that they had stopped work, potentially delaying the release of the hit shows' upcoming seasons.
How big an impact the strike has on the film and TV industry will depend on how long it takes for both sides to reach an agreement.
Late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live is among those to cancel new episodes. Source: Getty / Randy Holmes
"We would hope that it wouldn't go on for a long time and that the studios would recognise that they need to make a deal.
"But … the future viability of their career is at stake, so I think they're willing to do what it takes."
The last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days. It cost the California economy an estimated $2.1 billion as productions shut down and out-of-work writers, actors and producers cut back spending.
"It's still a terrifying feeling to think about how long Hollywood can be closed down. I think about the 2007 strike and we lost so many great shows and so much quality because of that, and I'm like fearful for TV and movies to end up that way again," writer and WGA member Maya Housten said.
If the work stoppage stretches on, TV networks will increasingly fill programming lineups with unscripted reality shows, news magazines and reruns. It also could delay the pivotal autumn TV season for which show writing normally starts in May or June.
Netflix may be insulated from any immediate impact because of its global focus and access to non-US production facilities.
