Hollywood’s writers and actors are on strike

Hollywood’s writers and actors are on strike

Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images

Hollywood productions will remain at a standstill until media companies can come to an agreement with the writers and actors who make them.

With both writers and actors on strike, Hollywood productions have been ground to a halt. Actors have walked off sets, and writers haven’t been working for months. At the center of it all are two types of technology that have had a major impact on the way content is made: AI and streaming.

The unions representing writers and actors — the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) — went on strike after their contracts expired with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the association that represents media companies like Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Universal, and others. While the WGA began its strike on May 2nd, SAG-AFTRA joined the writers at the picket lines on July 14th, marking the first time since 1960 that both unions have gone on strike at the same time.

Both writers and actors are fighting for contracts that prevent an AI from replacing them at their jobs, whether it’s writing scripts or appearing as a background actor. They’re also looking for better pay when working on shows for streaming services. We’re already starting to see the effects of the strike, with shows and movies like Deadpool 3, Stranger Things, Thunderbolts, The Last of Us, and many more in limbo until both unions reach an agreement with the AMPTP.

Here’s the latest on the strikes.