Hollywood Screenwriters in Discussions with Studios at the Eleventh Hour to Avoid Strike

Negotiations between Hollywood writers and film and television studios are underway in an effort to avoid a potential strike that could cause significant disruption to TV production.

The Writers Guild of America could call for a work stoppage as early as Tuesday if an agreement cannot be reached with companies such as Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. If a strike occurs, it would be the WGA’s first in 15 years.

One of the key issues being negotiated is pay increases and changes to industry practices that writers believe force them to work more for less money.

The WGA is also seeking safeguards to prevent studios from using artificial intelligence to generate new scripts from writers’ previous work.

The negotiations take place against a difficult economic backdrop for the industry, including declining television ad revenue, pressure to make streaming services profitable, and the threat of recession.

Late-night shows, soap operas, and other daytime programs are among the productions that would likely be immediately affected.

In the event of a prolonged strike, programming would increasingly consist of unscripted reality shows, news magazines, and reruns.

The last WGA strike in 2007-2008 lasted 100 days and cost the state an estimated $2.1 billion.