Hollywood has dodged a bullet. A threatened writers strike was averted early this morning when the WGA and management's AMPTP reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year film and TV contract.
Details are still sketchy, but the agreement is expected to save the WGA's ailing health plan and provide more money and protections for writers of short-order TV shows. The deal now goes to the WGA West's board and the WGA East's council for approval, and then to the guilds' members for ratification.
The news comes after negotiations continued past the three-year film and TV contract's midnight PT expiration. But sources on both sides said they were close on a new agreement, with the continuing talks proving ”constructive." By 12:45 AM, people inside and around the AMPTP's Sherman Oaks offices were seen embracing and smiling.
”It was a hard night, but we knew it would be," a source close to the studios told Deadline of the hours leading up to the early-morning deal.
An official announcement is expected shortly.
It's a major victory for the guilds, their leadership and their members, who made it abundantly clear over the last few months that they were ready and willing to strike if they didn't get what they wanted – a fair deal.
It's also a big win for late-night talk and comedy shows, which would have been the first to feel the brunt of a writers' walkout. It's also a big win for their viewers, who won't be subjected to a steady diet of Trump jokes written by interns and production assistants.
It's a win for the networks and advertisers, too, in advance of their upfronts, which get underway May 15, and deals can now be made without the uncertainties of a strike clouding the picture.
Hollywood can now breathe a collective sigh after holding its breath ever since the contract talks began on March 13 amid a flurry of strike threats. But it's only a temporary breather. Negotiations for a new SAG-AFTRA contract will get underway later this month, and the industry could be in for another round of apnea.
