The Effects of the Writer's Strike

by Lauren Frieson

November 3, 2023

Hollywood – the glamor, the fame, the money, everyone wants a taste. But what is really going on behind the scenes, are the writers, crew, or even the actors being treated fairly? With the just-ended writers' strike and the still continuing actors' strike, these questions are finally being answered. 

What is the writer's strike?

The writers’ strike was an ongoing protest done by TV and movie writers to improve minimum pay, increase streaming residuals, and gain some protection against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to take their jobs or pay.

The strike went on for 146 days, from May 2, 2023-September 27, 2023. It was the writer's first strike in 15 years.

Television writers have seen a 23% pay cut in the last decade, even though show budgets have only increased. At the same time, pay for movie writers has gone down 14%. 

Residuals are long-term payments for those who worked on a television show or movie. This pay structure was created in 1960, the last time actors and writers were protesting together. But because of streaming sites like Netflix sometimes the residual checks stop coming altogether.

Many writers feel major studios, like HBO, will use AI to exploit them. You can type something like, “Create a script for a 5-minute film featuring Barbie and Ken,” into ChatGPT and get the script in seconds. Writers also worry AI could take their job; they fear their creative freedoms will be taken and they will just be used to edit/perfect an AI’s script. 

It’s safe to say that the reasons behind the writers' strike are valid – they just want better pay, streaming residuals, and protection against the ever-growing AI.

How are actors affected too?

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)  is a union organization that represents TV hosts, radio hosts, and actors. This union started a completely different strike that began July 13, 2023.

Because most projects are done filming and there are independent films not associated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), many films and television episodes are still coming out. So many A-listers, like Anne Hathaway and Kevin Costner, are still working on independent projects that have nothing to do with AMPTP – the producers they are striking against. 

Actors are fighting for the same things as writers: better pay and working conditions, as well as protection against AI. 

Actors on strike were stopped from promoting new projects in interviews, red carpet events, and social media. Actors are banned from any production associated with AMPTP. Work like auditions, readings, rehearsals, and voiceovers are also off-limits.

Big-name working actors, like Jennifer Coolidge and Sheryl Lee Ralph, are showing support for the strike by picking up signs and going to the front lines. Hundreds of actors, writers, and crew people are putting their livelihoods on the line to protest for the cause. 

SAG-AFTRA has yet to come to an agreement with AMPTP, so they are still in discussion to improve things for actors, and they will not come to an agreement unless the producers get serious. Actors' last strike was 3 months long.

How were television shows and movies affected?

Many projects have been put on hold or canceled altogether, causing a Hollywood shutdown not seen since COVID-19. Live night shows like The Late Show and The Tonight Show have gone dark. Loved shows like Abbott Elementary may even have their new season cut short. 

Film is less affected by the strike than TV shows because once a screenplay is sold, the writer’s work on a film is effectively done. But television shows are written daily, weekly, or monthly. 

Depending on how long the strike continues, viewers might not notice the impact until it's over. If the strike persists longer than expected, production shutdowns will catch up with content release. So viewers will have fewer and fewer new things to watch, like during the pandemic.

But because of the “Streaming Era,” the strike is completely different this time. Studio companies like Netflix have cut spending on movies and TV to try and turn a profit. Companies have even used streaming to cut writers' pay. 

What’s happening right now?

The writers strike officially ended on September 24, 2023. Minimum pay was increased and will be in effect immediately after the contract is ratified.

Streaming companies will also give viewership data to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) under a confidentiality agreement. This is a big step because of streaming companies' lack of transparency in the past. This agreement also includes a 50% bonus residual payment for writers of the show and film, if the show/movie is viewed in the first 90 days by more than 20% of subscribers.

WGA outlined details of a tentative agreement, which stops AI from being used for literary material and keeps studios from forcing writers to use it. But the deal also allows writers to choose when they would like to use AI, upon getting consent from the studio.