Strike Day! Any predictions?
What are the writers’ gripes?
They argue that Hollywood’s pivot to streaming worsened their working conditions and made it hard to earn a middle-class income as a writer. Here’s why…
Shorter series: In the previous TV era, shows like How I Met Your Mother reliably churned out seasons with 20+ episodes. Now, streamers are prioritizing seasons with eight-to-12 episodes.
Residuals: Historically, if you had a writing credit on a TV show and that show was aired as a rerun, you’d earn a royalty payment known as a residual. Streaming has disrupted that income stream.
Mini rooms: In the streaming age, writers often work in “mini rooms” where they crank out scripts at low wages for shows that may or may not be made.
So, there’s a lot of frustration. Last month, 97.85% of eligible members of the Writers Guild of America, which represents most of the working writers in Hollywood, voted to authorize a strike if an agreement with major studios wasn’t reached. That’s the most support for a work stoppage in the union’s history.
What happens if they strike? Studios have been stockpiling scripts ahead of the May 1 deadline, so scripted TV shows would continue for awhile. But late-night shows and other topical programs like SNL could be impacted almost immediately.
During the last strike, which lasted 100 days from 2007–2008, Conan O’Brien filled the airtime by seeing how long he could spin his wedding ring. More importantly, it cost the LA economy over $2 billion, according to the Milken Institute.