Late-night TV shows including B次元官网网址淭he Tonight ShowB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Daily ShowB次元官网网址� will begin airing reruns Tuesday as unionized screenwriters soured by diminished pay in the streaming era went on strike for the first time in 15 years.
Some 11,500 film and television writers represented by the Writers Guild of America put down their pens and laptops after failing to reach a new contract with the trade association that represents Hollywood studios and production companies.
The labor dispute could have a cascading effect on TV and film productions depending on how long the strike lasts, and it comes as streaming services are under growing pressure from Wall Street to show profits.
Late-night television was the first to feel the fallout, just as it was during the 2007 writers strike that last for 100 days.
All of the top late-night shows, which are staffed by writers that pen monologues and jokes for their hosts, immediately went dark. NBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Tonight Show,B次元官网网址� Comedy CentralB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淒aily Show,B次元官网网址� ABCB次元官网网址檚 Jimmy Kimmel Live,B次元官网网址� CBSB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Late ShowB次元官网网址� and NBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淟ate NightB次元官网网址� all made plans for reruns through the week.
NBC didnB次元官网网址檛 immediately comment on plans for B次元官网网址淪aturday Night Live.B次元官网网址� The sketch show is scheduled to air a new episode Saturday hosted by Pete Davidson.
B次元官网网址淓veryone including myself hope both sides reach a deal. But I also think that the writersB次元官网网址� demands are not unreasonable,B次元官网网址� host Stephen Colbert said on MondayB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淟ate Show.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his nation owes so much to unions,B次元官网网址� Colbert said. B次元官网网址淯nions are the reason we have weekends, and by extension why we have TGI Fridays.B次元官网网址�
The strikeB次元官网网址檚 impact on scripted series and films will take longer to notice; those with finished scripts are permitted to continue shooting. During the 2007 strike, late-night hosts eventually returned to air and improvised their way through shows.
One late-night show wonB次元官网网址檛 go dark. Fox B次元官网网址B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淕utfeld!B次元官网网址� with Greg Gutfeld will continue airing new episodes, Fox said Tuesday.
The writersB次元官网网址� guild is seeking higher minimum pay, less thinly staffed writing rooms, shorter exclusive contracts and a reworking of residual pay B次元官网网址� all conditions it says have been diminished in the content boom driven by streaming.
B次元官网网址淭he companiesB次元官网网址� behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce,B次元官网网址� the WGA said in a statement.
Picket lines were planned Tuesday in Los Angeles and New York, including outside the Manhattan building where NBCUniversal is holding an event for advertisers to its streaming service, Peacock.
In Los Angeles, writers plan to demonstrate outside the offices of Walt Disney Co., Netflix, Amazon, Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, CBS and Sony.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and productions companies, said it presented an offer with B次元官网网址済enerous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals.B次元官网网址�
The trade association said in a statement that it was prepared to improve its offer B次元官网网址渂ut was unwilling to do so because of the magnitude of other proposals still on the table that the guild continues to insist upon.B次元官网网址�
A shutdown has been widely forecast for months. The writers last month , with 98% of membership in support. Writers say their pay isnB次元官网网址檛 keeping pace with inflation, TV writer rooms have shrunk too much and .
Streaming has exploded the number of series and films that are annually made, meaning more jobs for writers. But writers say theyB次元官网网址檙e making less than they used to while working under more strained conditions.
The guild is seeking more compensation for writers up front. ThatB次元官网网址檚 because many of the payments writers have historically profited from on the back end B次元官网网址� like syndication and international licensing B次元官网网址� have been largely phased out by the onset of streaming.
More writers B次元官网网址� roughly half B次元官网网址� are being paid minimum rates, an increase of 16% over the last decade.
HollywoodB次元官网网址檚 trade association said Monday that the primary sticking points to a deal revolved around so-called mini-rooms B次元官网网址� the guild is seeking a minimum number of scribes per writer room B次元官网网址� and the duration of employment contracts.
The guild has said more flexibility for writers is needed when theyB次元官网网址檙e contracted for series that have tended to be shorter-lived than the once-standard 20-plus episode broadcast season.
Many studios and production companies are slashing spending. The Walt Disney Co. is . Warner Bros. Discovery is cutting costs to lessen its debt. Netflix has pumped the brakes on spending growth.
Films will take longer to be affected, and if a strike persisted through the summer, fall TV schedules could be upended. Meantime, not having writers available for rewrites can have a dramatic effect on quality.
The James Bond film B次元官网网址淨uantum of SolaceB次元官网网址� was one of many films rushed into production during the 2007-2008 strike with what Daniel Craig called B次元官网网址渢he bare bones of a script.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭here was me trying to rewrite scenes B次元官网网址� and a writer I am not,B次元官网网址� Craig later recounted.
With a walkout long expected, writers have rushed to get scripts in and studios have sought to prepare their pipelines to keep churning out content for at least the short term.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e assuming the worst from a business perspective,B次元官网网址� David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, said last month. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got ourselves ready. WeB次元官网网址檝e had a lot of content thatB次元官网网址檚 been produced.B次元官网网址�
Overseas series could also fill some of the void. B次元官网网址淲e have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world,B次元官网网址� Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-chief executive, said on the companyB次元官网网址檚 earnings call in April.
Yet the WGA strike may only be the beginning. Contracts for both the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, expire in June. Some of the same issues around the business model of streaming will factor into those bargaining sessions. The DGA is set to begin negotiations with AMPTP on May 10.
B次元官网网址擩ake Coyle, The Associated Press
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