Hollywood’s Latest Cliffhanger, Explained
The other issue is the fact that 20 years ago, episode orders could be for 22, 24, 26 episodes. But in the streaming era, episode orders are much shorter — six, seven, eight episodes. As a result, writers say that they leave a miniroom or a writer’s room sooner than they would have in the past; they are left scrambling to find another job.
How does this moment compare to the writer’s strike that began in 2007?
You’ll hear the writers say, as united as they were then, they are even more united now. In 2007, they didn’t have a lot of other support from their union brethren. It’s very different this time around. Other unions, including the Hollywood union, voiced support for the writers. Another thing you’ll hear the writers say is that as significant as their ambitions were in 2007, it’s even more urgent now.
W.G.A. renegotiates contracts with studios every three years. Why is this happening now?
We could have potentially seen some labor issues in 2020, but the pandemic happened just as negotiations began. One of the chairs of the W.G.A.’s negotiating committee said, We only walk when we feel like we are facing an existential crisis and like something significant has happened. That is why you have these generational strikes; they usually accompany technological shifts. In 2007, that was the advent of the internet.
Would you say this strike is the result of the rise of streaming services?
Yes. A decade ago, Netflix introduced “House of Cards.” That was one of its first original shows. In the last four years, we’ve seen the rise of streaming services, such as Apple TV+ and HBO Max, and the decline of cable television. You’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of people who watch cable or network TV in the way that they did a few years ago.
Where do you predict the strike goes from here?
The talks broke down a week ago; there have been no negotiations all week. After the strike was called, one of the lead W.G.A. negotiators told me in an interview, “Philosophically and practically, we’re very far apart,” which is something that has been underscored and reiterated by company executives in recent days as well, including by Bob Bakish, the chief executive of Paramount.
