Disney Demands Writer/Producers Work During Writer’s Strike

On May 2, nearly the entire entertainment industry came to a grinding halt. The Writers Guild of America, and its almost 12,000 members, announced that they were going on strike. The issue for this strike is mainly focusing on the impact that streaming has had on the writers and the studios they work for. The writers are claiming that the studios are paying them less and having them write fewer episodes as they change the length of seasons for streaming. Writers get paid per episode, so going from writing around 20 episodes per season for a network show to 8 to 12 episodes for a streaming show is having a big impact.

While the writers are not working for the studios at the moment, there are still a lot of other people that work hard to make a show. Those people are, for the most part, continuing to work. Now, some of the writers who are striking are also producers on the show. Many studios — including Disney — are reaching out to those writer-producers and telling them that, even though they will not write, they are still expected to perform their other duties.

Disney’s legal department sent out a letter to writer-producers, which was shared with The Hollywood Reporter:

“We want specifically to reiterate to you as a showrunner or other writer-producer that you are not excused from performing your duties as a showrunner and/or producer on your series as a result of the WGA strike. Your personal services agreement with [the] Studio requires that you perform your showrunner and/or producing duties even if the WGA attempts to fine you for performing such services during the strike,” wrote Bob McPhail, the assistant chief counsel for the Disney-owned ABC Signature, in the letter sent to showrunners and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “Your duties as a showrunner and/or producer are not excused, suspended or terminated until and unless you are so notified in writing by the Studio.”

The letter was sent out on the second day of the writers’ strike. We do not know if the writer-producers who were sent the letter were on the picket lines during the day. Writers are picketing in both Los Angeles and New York City. In Los Angeles, they are picketing at several locations. This includes in front of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

The writers are demanding increased wage floors, more transparency from streaming services — like Disney+ —, and protections against the use of artificial intelligence. They also want the studios to stop using what are called “mini writers rooms.” Mini writers’ rooms are smaller than regular writers’ rooms. The writers aren’t paid as much, and they write multiple episodes of a series before the project is green-lit.

Both the writers on strike and the studios have shown no signs of backing down from what they want. There are so signs of movement towards an agreement. There is no word on how long the writers intend to stay on strike. The last writer’s strike was in November 2007 and did not end until February 2008.