WGA Negotiations Resume as Deadline for Spring Season Looms
By Movieguide® Contributor
Talks between the WGA and AMPTP have resumed as the deadline to create new scripted shows for the Spring television season approaches.
Based on the typical length of production, Labor Day serves as a soft deadline for when the WGA needs to return to work for studios to release Spring seasons.
“Today many network dramas would have begun shooting their 4th episode of the fall season,” veteran TV writer-producer Warren Leight explained on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 8th. “If the strike were somehow to end by Labor Day, and shooting were to begin in early fall, the networks might be able to salvage a 13 episode season. The clock keeps ticking.”
“Normally the writers room opens up 5 weeks before shooting begins. That could be condensed for a shorted season,” he added in the comments.
Today many network dramas would have begun shooting their 4th episode of the fall season. If the strike were somehow to end by Labor Day, and shooting were to begin in early fall, the networks might be able to salvage a 13 episode season. The clock keeps ticking.
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) August 8, 2023
With that deadline in mind, the AMPTP has resumed negotiation talks with the WGA in an attempt to salvage the Spring season. While both sides remain open to compromises, there is yet to be any major headway on the key issues.
The writers are asking for protection against AI and better residual pay from streaming services, neither of which have been approved by the AMPTP. These issues will need to be resolved before a deal is made.
Even as negotiations resume, it is unclear how open the AMPTP is to these key issues.
For many shows, their survival depends on the resolution of the strikes. If the shows cannot launch in the Spring, the studios will likely cut some newer scripted series, Deadline reports.
Shows that have yet to launch may survive because a delay will not impact their success as much. However, shows that launched last year may not recover from a yearlong break between seasons.
The industry felt a similar impact when COVID-19 shut down productions—shows that were going into their second season were most impacted.
While strikes ending by Labor Day remains the target, some shows could conceivably produce a new season starting as late as early October. Comedies, for example, take less time to produce.
Movieguide® previously reported on the writers’ strike:
Negotiations between the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) resumed as representatives from both organizations met with each other for the first time since May.
“Your Negotiating Committee received a counterproposal from the AMPTP today. We will evaluate their offer and, after deliberation, go back to them with the WGA’s response next week,” the WGA shared with its members on Friday.
“Sometimes more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and a subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves,” the update continued. “That will be our approach, at least for the time being, until there is something of significance to report, or unless management uses the media or industry surrogates to try to influence the narrative.”
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