Hollywood's Worst Nightmare: The Writers’ Strike

Have you noticed your favorite shows and movies seem to be disappearing? Delayed? Canceled? These are all consequences that have come as a result of the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) Strike. After a 3-year deal between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, (AMPTP), which chose not to edit their agreements, expired, the WGA almost immediately went on strike on May 1.

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On the 24th of September, after 146 days of enduring the uncertainty of the strike, the WGA and the AMPTP reached a tentative agreement. This increased the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) minimum, and, if approved, would greatly help the writers’ situations. However, no writers will return to work until the deal is complete and finalized, and they are authorized to do so by the Guild. But, why were they on strike in the first place?

The driving force behind the strike is the transition to streaming, which has negatively affected writers while increasing revenue for major production companies. Pay for writers across the board, regardless of experience, has also shown a significant decline in recent years. In the 2013-2014 season, around 33% of writers were working at the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) minimum, whereas today roughly half are working with this pay.

Ironically, while movie budgets have soared in the past few years, writer’s pay has significantly declined. Traditionally, and particularly for TV shows, writers would be hired for long, 22-episode seasons, guaranteeing weeks of work, and therefore pay. Since the transition to streaming, seasons are shorter, and the success of a show does not necessarily lead to a second season. This has led to writers working fewer weeks with less pay, and little to no job security. According to the WGA, lower and mid-level writers have shown a significant decline in weeks worked. In 2021-2022, these writers worked 20-24 average weeks on streaming shows, versus 29-40 weeks on Network and CW programs.

In contrast to these low-level writers are the showrunners, who are the executive producers and often writers for a show. These showrunners are the creative heads of a show and management responsibility. Some of their responsibilities are to run the writer’s room, approve all department heads, and liaise with the network or studio. Essentially, they “run the show.” Because they manage a show all the way from pre production to post production, they have been virtually unaffected by the transition to streaming, allowing them to work 40 weeks or more on the show. The showrunner’s work reflects the actual time it takes to get a show up and running, whereas the 20 weeks or fewer writers sometimes work reflects the job insecurity many writers struggle with.

Producing companies have used the move towards streaming as an opportunity to separate the writing from production. This means that the length of a series does not depend on the availability of writers, since the writing can be done quickly, so the writer’s jobs can be finished long before the show airs. Additionally, on TV, more writers are working at the minimum pay no matter their level of experience, for less time, in mini-rooms, and showrunners are left without writing staff as a result, unable even to finish a season. Pay can be stretched out for months, and employers have even been known to hold pay hostage, forcing the writers to work for nothing.

The issues the WGA is fighting against the big companies for are increased pay and residuals, which are compensations for people involved in TV shows and movies based on reruns, syndication, DVD release, streaming media, or entertainment in generative AI. Essentially, residuals are paid after a film or show is released.

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Since shows and movies take a long time to be filmed, many were already finished by the time of the strike. However, the WGA’s attacks will feel their effects in the long term, as filming and writing grinds to a halt. Some of the shows to be delayed are the late-night talk shows. For example, Saturday Night Live, which would normally start in October, has been delayed indefinitely, and other hugely popular talk shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert have been put on hiatus, unable to continue without a writing staff. Of course, it isn't just regular programs like the late-night show that have been affected. Other popular shows have been put on hold, such as Disney+’s Andor, ABC’s Abbot Elementary, or the final season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai.

As Daniel Kwan, an Academy Award-winning film director put it on Twitter, “It's about writers getting their fair share. It's about maintaining a healthy middle/working class of writers in our industry. It's about showing our collective strength as new tech threatens to take away our leverage.” As the WGA continues negotiations with the AMPTP, fans around the world await the return of their favorite television series and the restoration of balance within the ever-volatile film industry.