Writer’s Strike:

Streaming services’ growth has transformed TV and film production, but writers express concern about inadequate compensation, especially for residuals. Streaming has disrupted the traditional residual model, often paying less than conventional broadcasts. Streaming platforms often pay residuals upfront, usually a fraction of potential earnings from a successful show’s reruns. Despite the platforms’ huge profits, writers feel the earnings are not fairly distributed to the content creators.

The 2023 WGA strike is, in part, a response to these issues. The WGA is demanding that streaming services provide more meaningful residuals to writers. Until these demands are met, writers are refusing to work, leading to production delays and shutdowns across the industry(Boyle).

Several shows have experienced delays due to the writer’s strike. Some examples include:

• “Blade” – The Marvel series, set to star Mahershala Ali, was supposed to start filming in Atlanta in June. But pre-production has stopped in response to the writer’s strike(Boyle).

• “Daredevil: Born Again” – After weeks of Picketers halting production in New York, Marvel’s upcoming revival of Daredevil has completely shut down production until the strike is over(Boyle).

• “Emily in Paris Season 4” – The strike has led to a two-month delay in filming, pushing back production until fall(Boyle).

• “Euphoria Season 3” – The release date for the third season of this popular HBO series has been pushed back to 2025 due to the strike(Boyle).

These are just a few examples. As the strike continues, it’s likely that more and more shows will be affected, resulting in significant delays and disruptions in the industry. It’s a clear demonstration of the impact that writers and the residuals they earn have on the production of television and film content.

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SAG-AFTRA

• A group of about 160,000 Hollywood actors, who are members of the SAG-AFTRA union, have decided to go on strike after not being able to come to an agreement with major Hollywood studios (Delouya).
• This is the first time in more than 60 years that both Hollywood actors and writers are striking at the same time, causing a lot of movie and TV projects to stop (Delouya).
• The actors are demanding better pay and a change in the way they get paid every time a TV show or movie they’ve worked on is shown again, as they believe they’re not getting enough money from this because of streaming services (Delouya).
• SAG-AFTRA’s president, Fran Drescher, says that most actors are just trying to earn a living and not all of them are rich (Delouya).
• In 2022, actors in California made an average of $27.73 an hour according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but they don’t work full-time all year round (Delouya).
• Even though some actors make millions, only about 13% of SAG-AFTRA members are earning enough to get health insurance from the union (Delouya).
• The money actors make from their work being shown again, known as residuals, has decreased as more content is being shown on streaming services. For example, actress Kellee Stewart said she only got 13 cents from her work being shown on streaming services (Delouya).
• Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, who could make up to $31 million a year, says the demands of the actors and writers on strike are not realistic (Delouya).
• The strike from both the actors and writers could cause more than $4 billion in losses, not just in the US, but also in other countries involved in film and TV production like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand (Delouya).

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