The WGA strike is tentatively over after 146 days
After more than four months of striking, Hollywood writers will soon be able to put down their picket signs and pick up their pens once again.
The Writers Guild of America, the joint unions that represent writers across film, television, radio, and online media, have reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, the guild announced to its members Sunday evening.
"We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language," the WGA negotiating committee said in a statement. Though no specifics on the deal were revealed at the time, the statement hailed the deal as "exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership."
Writers have been on strike since May 2, when the union's board of directors voted unanimously in favor of the action after six weeks of failed negotiations with major studios including Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount, and Sony. The strike, which has lasted 146 days, marks one of the WGA's longest ever, outlasting the 100 days of the 2007-2008 strike.
Bruce Glikas/Getty Pete Davidson joins members of the Writers Guild of America to picket outside Silvercup Studios
It has also paused multiple major television shows, including the final season of Stranger Things, as well as films like the Freaky Friday sequel, Mahershala Ali's Blade, and Tom Holland's fourth Spider-Man installment.
Talk shows have been heavily impacted by the strike as well. The Drew Barrymore Show, Real Time With Bill Maher, The Jennifer Hudson Show, and The Talk delayed their respective air dates after sparking heavy criticism and picketing outside studios for attempting to resume production without their WGA writers. Other programs like The View, however, have continued to film new episodes without their union members.
The WGA was joined on the picket line by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in July, marking the first concurrent strike between the two guilds since 1960. The combined strikes effectively shut down Hollywood, and led Disney to delay several Marvel films, including its live-action Moana adaptation, an untitled Star Wars project, and all of its forthcoming Avatar sequels. SAG-AFTRA remains on strike.
The guilds have both sought higher pay and protections from the use of artificial intelligence for their respective members as the industry continues to pivot away from traditional theatrical releases and television in favor of streaming platforms.
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