On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) officially went on strike after ongoing disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over several concerns regarding their labor. The WGA represents 11,500 screenwriters whose work ranges from scripted network and streamed content to live talk shows and late night broadcasts. According to the WGA On Strike website, when the WGA strike began, their demands included increased compensation and residuals from streamed content, protection from AI writing sources, staffing a writers’ room appropriately and more. When the writers' strike was announced, several productions were immediately halted, regardless of the state that they were in.
Two months later, on July 17, 2023, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) formally announced the beginning of their strike. Very similar to the WGA, the demands of the SAG union include creating beneficial and fair contracts and compensation, as well as protection from AI-generated facial and voice recognition devices. The SAG-AFTRA website says, “The business model of our industry has changed significantly. We have fully entered a digital and streaming entertainment industry, and that demands a contract that is relevant to the new business model and must be contemporary to meet the financial needs of our members today.”
Since both the actors and writers who are a part of their given unions are currently on the picket lines, this has greatly impacted the production of new media, publicity for projects and the way entertainment-based media is discussed. Shows that were supposed to be making their returns for the fall network season are halted for the foreseeable future. However, several programs have been under fire with the unions such as “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which was planning to resume production without their writers. “Barrymore” has since retracted this decision and will stay off the air until the strikes are over. “Dancing With The Stars” is planning to premiere on Sept. 28, despite its WGA coverage.
Amidst the ongoing strikes, the WGA has announced that they plan to resume negotiations with the AMPTP on Sept. 20. In a statement to union members and supporters, the WGA said, “In the meantime, please continue to demonstrate your commitment and unity by coming out to the picket lines—for yourselves and fellow writers, SAG-AFTRA, other unions’ members and all those in our community who are impacted by the strikes.” As of now, SAG members are still waiting to hear about ongoing negotiation decisions with the AMPTP.
Update: As of Sept. 24th, the WGA announced that they had reached a “tentative agreement” with the AMPTP and would have more details soon. SAG-AFTRA is still on strike and negotiations have not resumed.
By Haileigh West, Associate Editor
Graphic by Shae-Lynn Henderson, EIC