What will happen to the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike?

The unionized screenwriters’ strike hollywoodwhich has lasted almost five months, seems to be about to end since a tentative agreement was reached with the studios, streaming and production companies that hire them. Here’s a look at next steps for writers and actors whose strike continues.

Crucial votes

Two successful votes must be held before the strike ends. First, the boards of directors of the eastern and western branches of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) must approve the agreement.

Then, the union’s 11,500 members must vote to approve.

In fact, these types of votes are common in Hollywood unions and take place every time a new three-year contract is negotiated, although they usually do not occur at the end of a prolonged strike.

In the last writers’ strike, in 2008, board members voted two days after an agreement was reached, and members voted two days later. The deal was overwhelmingly approved, with more than 90% of screenwriters in favor.

That doesn’t necessarily mean voting is a sure thing. Some members may be dissatisfied with the agreements their leaders reached on issues such as compensation, staff size in writing rooms, and the use of artificial intelligence for scriptwriting, especially after spending nearly five months without work in demonstrations.

A last-minute deal that averted a strike by a different union, representing Hollywood technical workers, was controversial in 2021 and managed to pass.

But the desire to get back to work could lead some screenwriters with mixed feelings to say yes.

When will writers and TV shows come back?

Once the contract is approved, work will resume more quickly for some writers than others. Late night talk shows were the first affected when the strike began, and they may be among the first to return to the air.

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” from NBC, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from ABC and“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” from CBS could return in a few days.

But while the show’s comedy writers will be able to return, many of its regular guests will not, as the ongoing actors’ strike limits such appearances.

And the shows’ return amid that other strike could prove controversial, as it did with the planned and then scrapped resumptions of daytime shows, including “The Drew Barrymore Show” and “The Talk.”

The actors union has generally taken a less enthusiastic approach than the WGA. Leaders at the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have, for example, granted interim agreements that allow many non-studio productions to continue (something their Screen Actors Guild counterparts writers refused to do) and may not stand in the way of the shows’ attempts to return.

The scripted program writing rooms, which closed at the start of the strike, including those of “Stranger Things” from Netflix, “Severance” from Apple TV+ and “Abbott Elementary” from ABC, could also be revived quickly, although without artists representing the scripts. Delays between page and screen will be inevitable.

Film scriptwriters will also return to work, in some cases slower than usual, although those working on scripts or late revisions of already scheduled films, including “Deadpool 3” and “Superman: Legacy”, They will certainly rush to open their laptops to avoid any further setbacks for the release date.

How long will the actors’ strike last?

The studios that make up the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) chose to close a deal with the screenwriters, who went on strike two months earlier, even before beginning to deal with the actors.

SAG-AFTRA leaders have said they have not received any proposals from AMPTP since their strike began on July 14. That is likely to change now, and another round of negotiations is likely to begin, although how long that will take remains to be seen.

Three months passed after the writers’ strike before the AMPTP had an approach to start negotiations, and the first talks failed after a few days. A month later, the studios called the dialogue table again and this time the deal was closed less than a week later.

Source: AP