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The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike for the first time in years, and it has the potential to significantly disrupt the projects currently in development at all of the major studios, including Disney.
According to Josie Huang, writers were spotted striking outside of Disney’s Burbank Studios, demanding changes to their compensation and benefits as new projects, specifically television series, move to a streaming model on platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu.
While the production value of the shows has been praised for achieving cinematic value, the writers’ strike argues that the situation has only gotten worse in the writer’s room. What used to be seasons featuring 20+ episodes chiseled out of large writers’ rooms, and which earned those writers residuals have now been trimmed down to smaller teams with a fraction of the article count receiving little pay and no residuals.
Streamers typically order 8- 12 episodes per season, compared to 20+ episodes on network shows. Meanwhile, writers' median pay has gone👇, with about half paid min rates.
Dailyn Rodriguez is co-showrunner of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and is on the board of WGA-West. pic.twitter.com/aT3F9TV7ud
— Josie Huang (@josie_huang) May 3, 2023
“We’re working less weeks for less money at scale while they’re making billions of dollars,” said co-showrunner of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, Dailyn Rodriguez, referring to the bare minimum studios are able to pay the writers for their limited work.
Writer Kaitlin Fontana touched on an irony hitting the industry, explaining how it is becoming harder to be a writer in Hollywood, just as it is becoming the most diverse it has ever been.
“We are switching over to a time of more beautiful stories told in more different ways than ever before,” she said. “And yet there are more and more chokeholds on who can tell those stories and how long they can stay in this business.”
Kaitlin Fontana on why WGA must strike:
"…We are switching over to a time of more beautiful stories told in more different ways than ever before. And yet there are more & more chokeholds on who can tell those stories and how long they can stay in this business." pic.twitter.com/28f71Vl3eK
— Josie Huang (@josie_huang) May 3, 2023
Related: Abigail Disney Calls Out Hollywood – and Disney – Amid Writers Strike
Michelle Denise Jackson also mentioned that less and less work is becoming available and sustainable for writers–especially up-and-coming writers who have worked their way up to join the Guild. She says that writers are now being offered day rates rather than weekly rates, and the situation is creating a gig economy that takes them away from the craft.
The WGA says studios are creating a gig economy by not guaranteeing weekly employment and pushing for day rates for comedy/variety writers.
Michelle Denise Jackson says writers are quite literally having to take gig work like driving Uber to pay bills. pic.twitter.com/KpqSMDMr9e
— Josie Huang (@josie_huang) May 3, 2023
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It is unclear at this time how long the writers’ strike will last, and what results will become of it. But what does appear clear is that the studios’ optimization is leaving the people who actually write the shows with the shorter end of the stick.
We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on this story as more developments come to light.
