Hollywood’s writers painful strike is on the verge of ending

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A Hollywood strike of nearly five months appears about to end as a tentative deal has been reached between unionized screenwriters and the studios, streaming services and production companies that hire them. Here’s a look at the steps to come for writers, and for the actors whose strike continues.

FIRST COMES TWO CRUCIAL VOTES
After five days of marathon negotiating sessions that included the CEOs of Hollywood’s biggest studios, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers came to terms Sunday night on a contract good for three years, the standard length in the industry.

But two successful votes must happen before the strike is over. First, boards of the WGA’s eastern and western branches must approve the deal. Then the 11,500 members themselves must vote for approval. Such votes are actually common with Hollywood unions, taking place every time a new three-year contract is negotiated, though they don’t normally come at the end of a prolonged strike. In the last writers strike, in 2008, board members voted two days after a deal was reached, and members voted two days after that. The agreement was approved overwhelmingly, with over 90% of writers voting yes.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the vote is a sure thing. Some members are bound to be unsatisfied with the compromises their leaders reached on issues including compensation, the size of writing staffs, and the use of artificial intelligence in scriptwriting, especially after spending nearly five months out of work on picket lines. An 11th hour agreement that averted a strike by a different union representing Hollywood crews in 2021 was controversial and barely passed. But the desire to get back to work could prompt some writers with mixed feelings to vote yes.

WHEN WILL WRITERS AND SHOWS RETURN?
Once the contract is approved, work will resume more quickly for some writers than others. Late-night talk shows were the first to be affected when the strike began, and may be among the first to return to air now. NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and CBS’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” could come back within days.

Hollywood actor and writer strikes have broad support among Americans