You may have seen on social media some of the very funny signs that entertainment writers have been carrying on picket lines since the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began striking on May 2, picketing at studios in Hollywood and New York. As one picketer put it, “Succession without writers is just The Apprentice…. and look how that worked out.”
Many writers and their supporters have enjoyed the fun energy on these picket lines and in social media, but the underlying fight is serious business. This strike, which is mostly focused on pay disagreements with Hollywood producers, is a defining moment for the streaming era. If you’re excited for any upcoming movies or TV shows, what you see on your screen and when it will air will definitely be affected. For example, Stranger Things showrunners, the Duffer Brothers, announced over the weekend that they will postpone filming due to the strike, so we won’t be seeing anything from the Upside Down until an agreement is made.
This fight impacts workers and consumers, so it’s important to understand what the WGA is demanding and why it matters. Let’s break down some basics about the strike and its potential effects on the industry.
What is the Writers Guild of America?
The Writers Guild of America refers to two unions, the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West, which represent writers in film and TV. They work together to negotiate with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents large production companies such as Disney and Paramount and streamers like Netflix and Apple.
Why did the writers vote to authorize a strike?
Every three years, the WGA negotiates a new contract with the AMPTP, which needs to be authorized by its membership. The members of the WGA voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as a bargaining chip if they couldn’t reach an agreement with the AMPTP by the end of their current contract, which expired on May 1.
One of the most significant points of contention is the payment of residuals to writers. When shows and movies are rerun, the production company pays out from advertisers, and a cut of this profit is given to writers in the form of residuals. This means that when episodes are rerun, the writers are paid for each broadcast, ensuring that they continue to be compensated as the episode generates more profits from commercials during airing, for example.
However, with the advent of streaming, companies have increasingly turned to monthly or annual subscriptions for revenue. Because contracts with writers mostly account for revenue from reruns, writers receive only a tiny cut from their shows that are available to view on streaming platforms.
Take Abbott Elementary, for example: As show writer Brittani Nichols explains, the program airs on ABC, which is a traditional television network. Repeat airings of an episode result in large residuals for the writers; but in the streaming era, episodes are broadcast on Hulu and then cross-listed on other platforms like HBO Max and Disney+. If the show is being re-aired on ABC, the writers can take home $13,500, but under their current contracts, they make only $700 for the show on streaming. Companies, therefore, are able to take a larger share of profits by not accounting for the rise of streaming in writer contracts.
Another issue the writers are fighting over is "mini rooms." Before the shift to streaming and straight-to-series orders, production companies usually organized writers' rooms, where a group of writers could develop a pilot. The pilot would then be produced and filmed before a decision was made about it going on to be a full series. Nowadays, studios tend to use mini rooms for a smaller group of writers working on script ideas. The writers then work on many episodes of a potential first season, which producers consult before anything is ordered to be filmed. But mini rooms are not contracted the same way as a traditional writers' room, which leads to many writers getting paid the bare minimum, even for those with extensive experience in the industry.
What does this mean for me and the shows I watch?
The most immediate effect has been on late-night programs like Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night With Seth Meyers. Many other shows that have already been written and produced will likely be aired through the end of the season. But because shows that premiere in September are typically written during May and June, audiences may see programming delays in the fall.
During the last WGA strike, in 2007-2008, writers went on strike for 14 weeks and one day. This led to shorter seasons for shows including Gossip Girl, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, and Grey's Anatomy, as well as postponement to the following season for others.
Some current shows, like HBO’s House of the Dragon, Amazon’s The Rings of Power, and Disney+’s Andor, have opted to keep filming even without the participation of writers on set. However, as veteran How I Met Your Mother writer Carter Bays explained in an Instagram post:
“You might read about your favorite show staying in production through the strike because ‘the scripts are finished.’ To which I reply, ‘Oh honey…’ The scripts are never finished. If your favorite show is shooting without a writer on set, it's going to be… well, just fine. At best. More likely than not, it’s going to be bathtub meth with blue food coloring while they try to tell you it’s Heisenberg. Don’t be fooled.”
So viewers may see a huge difference in quality between previous seasons and television that is filmed during the strike.
Why does this matter for Hollywood?
These negotiations are significant because writers are the heart of the entertainment industry — without a great story, producers have no material to work with.
On top of this, the film and TV industry brings in a ton of money. According to the WGA’s calculations, Netflix, Paramount, Warner Bros., Fox, Disney, and Comcast made a combined $28 billion in 2021. The writers’ demands amount to roughly $600 million, which accounts for only 2% of this amount, so they’re arguing that they deserve their fair cut.
The transition to streaming has already been challenging for writers, as shorter seasons and the lack of consistency have made the work of writing more precarious. The WGA strike is an effort to make it clear that writers aren’t willing to stand for this unfair treatment.
With productions now being shut down, this has undoubtedly put many other people in the entertainment industry out of work. But as WGA negotiating committee member and TV host Adam Conover has argued, the standards established for WGA regulations often result in similar coverage for other entertainment industry unions. In other words, the benefits accrued by one union can raise standards across the board.
This strike also has knock-on effects for audiences. When a show like Westworld is taken off its platform, this is yet another example of cost-cutting by streamers so they no longer have to pay out residuals. For some shows and movies that aren't being released on physical media, this now makes it almost impossible for viewers to find some content that is more than a few years old.
Furthermore, keeping writers underpaid means that many people from marginalized groups can’t afford to work in the industry. One writer for Hulu’s hit The Bear, Alex O’Keefe, who grew up poor in Florida, was living in an apartment without heat while he was working on the show. As he told The New Yorker, “It’s a very regular-degular, working-class existence. And the only future I’m seeking financially is to enter that middle class, which has always been rarified for someone who comes from poverty.”
How can I support the writers?
If you are in Los Angeles or New York City, you can look at the strike schedule and support the writers in person to show your solidarity. If you’re unable to attend in person, you can offer support by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist, which provides food and other necessities to strikers in Los Angeles.
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