Union leaders and Hollywood studios reached a tentative agreement Sunday to end a after nearly five months, though no deal is yet in the works for striking actors.
The Writers Guild of America announced the deal in a joint statement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents studios, streaming services and production companies in negotiations.
鈥淲GA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP,鈥� the guild said in an email to members. 鈥淭his 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.鈥�
The three-year contract agreement 鈥� settled on after five marathon days of renewed talks by WGA and AMPTP negotiators that was joined at times by studio executives 鈥� must be approved by the guild鈥檚 board and members before the strike officially ends.
In a longer message from the guild shared by members on social media, the writers were told the strike is not over and no one was to return to work until hearing otherwise, but picketing is to be suspended immediately.
The terms of the deal were not immediately announced. The tentative deal to end the last writers strike, in 2008, was approved by more than 90% of members.
The agreement comes just five days before the strike would鈥檝e become the longest in the guild鈥檚 history, and the longest Hollywood strike more than 70 years.
As a result of the agreement, nightly network shows including NBC鈥檚 鈥淭he Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon鈥� and ABC鈥檚 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥� could return to the air within days.
But as writers prepare to potentially crack open their laptops again, it鈥檚 far from back to business as usual in Hollywood, as talks have not yet resumed between studios and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Crew members left with no work by the stoppage will remain unemployed for now.
鈥淪AG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines,鈥� the actors union said in a statement. 鈥淲hile we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP鈥檚 tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members.鈥�
The statement said the guild continues 鈥渢o 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.鈥�
The proposed solution to the writers strike came after talks resumed on Wednesday for the first time in a month. including Bob Iger of Disney, Ted Sarandos of Netflix, David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery and Donna Langley of NBCUniversal reportedly took part in the negotiations directly.
It was reached without the intervention of federal mediators or other government officials, which had been necessary in previous strikes.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement congratulating the two sides on the deal and said she is hopeful the same can happen soon with actors.
California Gov. Gavin 亚洲天堂om did the same, saying writers 鈥渨ent on strike over existential threats to their careers and livelihoods 鈥� expressing real concerns over the stress and anxiety workers are feeling. I am grateful that the two sides have come together.鈥�
About 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America walked off the job May 2 over , the size of writing staffs on shows and the in the creation of scripts. Actors, who , have their but there have been no discussions about resuming negotiations with their union yet.
The writers strike immediately sent late-night talk shows and 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� into hiatus, and has since sent into limbo, including forthcoming seasons of Netflix鈥檚 鈥淪tranger Things,鈥� HBO鈥檚 鈥淭he Last of Us,鈥� and ABC鈥檚 鈥淎bbot Elementary,鈥� and films including 鈥淒eadpool 3鈥� and 鈥淪uperman: Legacy.鈥� The were also pushed from September to January.
More recently, writers had been targeting talk shows that were working around strike rules to return to air, including 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� 鈥� and 鈥淭he Talk.鈥� All reversed course in the face of picketing and pressure, and are likely to quickly return now.
The combined strikes made for a pivotal moment in Hollywood as creative labor faced off against executives in a business transformed and torn by technology, from the seismic shift to streaming in recent years to the potentially paradigm-shifting emergence of AI in the years to come.
Screenwriters had traditionally gone on strike more than any other segment of the industry, but had enjoyed a relatively long stretch of labor peace until spring negotiations for a new contract fell apart. The walkout was their first since 2007 and their longest since 1988.
On July 14, more than two months into the strike, the writers got a dose of solidarity and star power 鈥� along with a whole lot of new picketing partners 鈥� when they were joined by 65,000 striking film and television actors.
It was the first time the two groups had been on strike together since 1960. In that walkout, the writers strike started first and ended second. This time, studios opted to deal with the writers first.
The AMPTP first reached out to suggest renewing negotiations in August. The meetings were short, infrequent, and not productive, and talks went silent for another month.
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