Writers deserve better pay!!!!
What Is Going On?
May 2nd, 2023 at 12:01 p.m., the 2023 Writer's Guild of America went on strike. The dispute is between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) labor union and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. This strike is the largest interruption to television since the COVID pandemic. A similar strike was also organized in the 2007-2008 runtime.
For further clarification, this Twitter user explains it best:
Productions Being Affected
Due to the writer's strike, the show's production has come to a stand still. Some are delayed with no idea of the future. Here are the TV series and movies that are being delays, so far:
TV Series
Abbott Elementary (season 3)
Big Mouth (season 8)
Cobra Kai (season 6)
Hacks (season 3)
Night Court (season 2)
Power Book III: Raising Kanan (season 3)
Unstable (season 2)
Yellowjackets (season 3)
Talk Shows
There are a lot of familiar shows on that list. Shows spawning from services like Amazon, Disney +, Apple Studios, and more, have all committed to this strike.
Negotiations
The strike may have happened on May 2nd, but it has been going on for a while. The tension between the WGA AND AMPTP has been ignited since 2007. Now, fifteen years later, it is still a fight that needs to be had.
On April 15th, 2023, almost 100% of the members of the WGA voted to go on strike if not meet satisfactory needs. The needs were not met and thus the strike commenced. Many fans have shown their support for the strike on Twitter.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the rules that the writers have to follow during this strike are, " writers cannot do any writing, revising, pitching or discussing future projects with companies that are members of the AMPTP. If writers do such work they will face punishment such as fines, or even banishment from the Guild." This is clearly showing the magnitude of the strike. Even fiction podcasts must stop producing episodes!
The Guild also stated, "They hoped that writers of animated series not covered by the Writers Guild, but by the Animation Guild, would seek advice from the Writers Guild on whether or not their work as a writer works counter to the activities of the strike, and if so to cease such work for the duration of the strike. The Guild noted that while they cannot punish non-Guild writers who write for companies against which the union is striking, they promise to bar such writers from future Guild membership." The WGA needs all the support that they can get no matter what.
Celebrity Support
Various celebrities have shown their support for the strike.
Quinta Brunson, writer and star of Abbot Elementary, shared her thoughts via Twitter:
Duffer Brothers, the writers of Stranger Things, chimed in:
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown shared a pic with a fellow picketer:
Even actors who are not picketing have shown support for their fellow writers. Jay Leno was seen giving donuts to the people on the picket line.
This support shows how important the work is. The more celebrities that get involved the more the writer's voices are being heard. Here is a very long list of actors showing their support (let me know if you see some familiar names or your favorite actors/actresses):
Pamela Adlon
Diedrich Bader
Ike Barinholtz
Justine Bateman
Rachel Bloom
Alex Borstein
Quinta Brunson
Aidy Bryant
Angelique Cabral
Jon Cryer
Brittany Curran
Jon Daly
Colton Dunn
Frances Fisher
Gina Gershon
Beth Grant
Sammi Hanratty
Steve Higgins
Michael Hitchcock
Brendan Hunt
Gillian Jacobs
Kerri Kenney-Silver
Zoe Lister-Jones
Angela Kinsey
John Owen Lowe
Rob Lowe
Natasha Lyonne
Constance Marie
Cynthia Nixon
Carrie Preston
Sara Ramirez
Michael Rapaport
Diona Reasonover
Meredith Salenger
Kristen Schaal
Ben Schwartz
Timothy Simons
Jason Sudeikis
Jacob Tobia
Allison Tolman
Jill Whelan
Alex Winter
Bowen Yang
Drew Barrymore
John Ross Bowie
Yvette Nicole Brown
Zach Cherry
Stephen Colbert
Pete Davidson
John DiMaggio
Edie Falcon
Jimmy Fallon
Juliette Goglia
Mark Hamill
Brian Tyree Henry
Mindy Kaling
Eric Allan Kramer
John Leguizamo
Jay Leno
Desi Lydic
Melanie Lynskey
Justina Machado
Seth Meyers
Eugene Mirman
Anson Mount
John Mulaney
Melissa O'Neill
Bob Odenkirk
Elizabeth Olsen
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Leah Remini
Diana-Maria Riva
Boots Riley
Amanda Seyfried
Lisa Ann Walter
Olivia Wilde
Henry Winkler
A lot of names here, that is a good thing.
Why Do I Care?
I care about this strike because I want to become a writer in the future. I have grown up being a fan of reading and writing. I always enjoyed writing as an outlet and want to have success with writing in my life. Writers are also the backbone of TV Series/shows. Without good writing, the series or movie would not be the same. Writers are in charge of the plot, dialogue, and direction of the actions. If you take it all that way, what do you have? Therefore, writers deserve more recognition because they earn it every day they walk on the set.
Another reason why I care is because I like watching TV. I have watched countless amounts of TV. The way that those shows make you want to keep watching is because of the WRITING. The writing entices me and makes me want a sequel or another season. Quinta Brunson is an example of someone who writes and creates quality TV. Abbott Elementary has garnered so much success in such little time and now it is a shame that production has to stop due to the mistreatment of writers. I support the strike because you will not see change without action. Hopefully, things change and writers get the recognition that they have been working so hard to earn.
Very informative! I remember the strikes and a lot of shows didn’t recover from that.