The 146-day writer's strike is coming to a close, as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced on Sunday it reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with major studios and streamers.
The WGA, which represents some 11,500 film and TV writers, began picketing on May 2 after failing to reach a contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which includes member companies like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Details of the new contract have not yet been revealed, though Variety reported the agreement is set to last three years. The WGA said it’s now making sure “everything we have agreed to is codified in final contract language.”
Once the WGA and AMPTP finalize the agreement, the WGA’s negotiating committee will vote on whether to recommend the agreement and send it to the Guild’s East and West Coast labor union divisions for approval.
Those divisions would then decide whether to authorize a contract ratification vote. WGA leadership expects to vote on Tuesday on whether to formally lift the strike order against AMPTP.
“To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild. We are still on strike until then,” said the WGA on Sunday. “But we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing.”
The Guild added, “this deal is exceptional—with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
The strike caused a disruption in the production of daily and weekly shows that are broadcast by major networks and offered on streaming services, particularly late-night talk shows like “Saturday Night Live.”
Shows and films with fully written scripts were allowed to continue production once the strike began. However, they faced the same disruption once SAG-AFTRA, a union representing Hollywood TV and film actors, announced its own strike on July 14.
Both strikes have focused on issues such as a decrease in pay due to the rise of streaming services, as well as concerns over artificial intelligence in movies and shows.
Variety reported “the use of generative AI in content production” was one of the last items the WGA and AMPTP worked on before closing their pact.
SAG-AFTRA in a statement congratulated the WGA for reaching a tentative deal with the AMPTP, while noting it “remain[s] committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members.”
“We remain on strike in our TV/Theatrical contract and continue to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand,” SAG-AFTRA stated.