The Hollywood writers strike could be finally coming to an end as the WGA (Writers Guild of America) came to a tentative agreement with the AMPTP on Sunday.
“WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers),” the guild said in a statement, per NBC News. “This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days.”
The union noted that no details of the proposed three-year contract would be released until it is approved by the WGA West Board and the WGA East Council, which could take place on Tuesday.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the statement also said.
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Even if leadership of the WGA and union members agree to the deal, it will take longer to have Hollywood back up and running like it was before. SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing 160,000 actors and other media professionals, is simultaneously on strike and so far has not reached a mutually agreeable deal.
The WGA strike began on May 2, while SAG-AFTRA joined the picket line on July 14. This is the first dual strike of both organizations since 1960. Industry insiders hope ending the WGA strike will spur negotiations with SAG-AFTRA.
“Hopes are high that it [the tentative deal with writers] will also mean the studios and streaming services will now focus fully on actors’ demands,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, told Reuters of the potential deal.
“Already it’s likely that the big studios will face a significant hit in 12-18 months time, with so little in the pipeline and bosses are now desperate for new content to attract eyes to big and small screens,” she added.
Both unions are on strike over similar issues. Their demands include higher wages, residual payments from streaming services for projects they’ve worked on, and protection against the use of artificial intelligence technology, among other issues.