Actors and writers celebrated labor victory, but now cheers seem premature

One year ago, Hollywood faced Labor Day with actors and writers on strike, leading to a significant reshuffling of movie release schedules and prime-time TV lineups lacking original domestically produced scripted series. Even the Emmy Awards, the traditional kickoff to the new TV season, were postponed until January.

After months of negotiations, both guilds reached agreements by Thanksgiving. Yet, the entertainment industry finds itself in another fall filled with dissatisfaction, with talent and crews expressing concerns about fewer opportunities. Studios, in the meantime, have implemented layoffs amidst shrinking stock prices, declining TV network valuations, and unsettling mergers, suggesting that despite last year’s standoff, everyone might be worse off in hindsight.

Despite the hardships of extended work stoppages, writers and actors felt compelled to take a firm stand against studios and streaming services, seeking fair compensation in an evolving business model. While studios claimed financial struggles during this transition, the guilds won the public relations battle, portraying wealthy CEOs as adversaries. Ultimately, studios largely conceded to the writers’ and actors’ demands, including pay increases, better health and pension contributions, viewership-based streaming bonuses, and protections against AI replacing human writers and actors.

“When you take a look at this contract, in overall terms, it’s really extraordinary,” said SAG-AFTRA executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland to Deadline in December after the membership ratified the agreement, estimating over $1 billion in contract gains.

However, the aftermath has been bleak. Many actors, writers, and crew members have sought side jobs to make ends meet. First-person stories from Hollywood’s front lines have highlighted the struggle, leading to a series titled “Holding On in Hollywood” by the trade site The Wrap.

“It was hard before the strike. It’s even harder now,” writer Corey Grant told NPR in June, suggesting the decline in jobs could be punitive actions by studios in response to the strike.

Recent headlines about studios and streaming services hint at financial reasons for the cutbacks. Companies have invested heavily in streaming subscriptions but haven’t balanced the financial trade-offs related to their traditional TV networks and theatrical releases.

Warner Bros. Discovery has laid off over 1,000 employees and recently informed investors that their networks, including TNT, CNN, and Discovery Channel, are worth $9 billion less than a few years ago. The Times described this decline as part of “an industrywide reckoning,” with Paramount also lowering its network valuations by billions and laying off nearly 1 in 6 employees while negotiating to sell what remains of the company.

Even streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video have become more selective about new programming, aiming to reduce costs and taking advantage of successful international series such as “Squid Game” and “Baby Reindeer.”

There have been a few positive moments this summer, such as Disney’s box-office success with the sequels “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2,” which together have grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide.

Despite these successes, the industry remains in a state of painful flux, akin to the digital transition that overwhelmed the newspaper industry.

Traditionally, fall is a season of hope and optimism in Hollywood, with new TV shows premiering and the transition from summer blockbusters to award-seeking prestige releases. However, the current mood in Hollywood is far from optimistic. While actors and writers celebrated last year’s contractual victories, the harsh reality of 2024 reveals that higher wages and improved residuals mean little without the jobs necessary to reap those benefits.

Source: Los Angeles Times