Hollywood Writers Strike Reaches Its 100 Day Mark: What This Means For Viewers
The writers strike that is presently unfolding in Hollywood has just hit its 100 day mark as of Aug. 9. The events that will follow are bound to leave lasting impressions on the industry and could alter the fundamentals of TV and Film as we now know and view them.
The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) union is on strike in protest against unfair wage conditions, staffing issues, and due to increasing concerns surrounding the use of artificial intelligence technology in writers’ rooms. With the growing ubiquity of streaming technology, writers are often being paid less to do more, and many fear being replaced by AI. The WGA is pushing for regulations and contracts adjusted to the implementation of these new technologies, but have been unsuccessful in their negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Representatives for both parties met last Friday to negotiate terms, but failed to reach an agreement. Amidst the strike, writers for various Hollywood productions have ceased work, and many TV shows have been stalled as a result.
Late night talk shows and broadcast television serve as the front lines of those that are being affected by the ongoing strike. Shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Saturday Night Live” have already been canceled and will air reruns for the foreseeable future. Broadcast television productions that follow weekly episodic releases have also taken a hit, and most have been put on hold or canceled.
The development of many beloved shows, streaming or otherwise, will also inevitably be affected if the strike isn’t resolved in the near future. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Abbott Elementary” and “Stranger Things” are among two of the productions that have been forcibly suspended due to the absence of their writers. If things proceed unresolved into the coming months, many other popular shows will be sure to follow.
Movies slated to release within the year will proceed uninterrupted, but if the strike persists much longer, Hollywood box offices will likely go under fire. If the strike were to continue unresolved for, say, years, then the entire film industry may be disastrously affected as a result. Or, at least, the output and quality of motion pictures would almost certainly decline.
However, delays to television resulting from the strike ultimately outweigh the alternative: underpaid, under-enthused writers and flat, AI generated scripts. In the event the strike fails, the writing behind Hollywood productions would risk being replaced with uninspired and unexceptional AI prompted work. This would ultimately result in bland scripts and with TV and film becoming deprived of originality and diversity. Hopefully soon the AMPTP will recognize that without writers, human writers, the industry will crumble.
Not only will the fate of Hollywood writers’ careers be irrevocably impacted by the results of the ensuing strike, but we viewers of TV stand to suffer if things continue unresolved. With luck, the WGA’s requests will be met soon, and we can get back to our regularly scheduled programs.
