Reportedly, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents approximately 11,500 writers in the film and television industry, reached an initial three-year deal with major studios on the previous Sunday. However, the deal still needs to be approved by the union’s leadership and its members.

If actors continue their Strike, late-night and daytime talk shows may be able to resume production in the near future once their writers receive official approval from the Guild to return to work. This approval could happen within the next few days or weeks.

Also Read: Hollywood strike: Writers Guild and studios reach tentative agreement, reports say

According to a source familiar with the plans, “The Drew Barrymore Show” aims to return to the air in October. Barrymore initially faced backlash after announcing her intention to revive the show in mid-September, but later changed her mind and decided against it.

Representatives for late-night programs like “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” declined to provide information about the schedule for airing new episodes.

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For scripted series, the resumption of filming depends on the SAG-AFTRA actors union reaching an agreement with the studios. These actors went on strike in July, demanding higher wages and limitations on the use of artificial intelligence in on-screen roles.

Film and television producer Todd Garner predicts that once actors reach an agreement, numerous productions will rush to restart at the same time.

“Remember during the pandemic, when Long Beach had all of those ships waiting?” Garner said, referring to the logjam of cargo ships stranded in the southern California port. “That’s our business right now. I’m guessing there are 250 ships in the harbor right now.”

Major television shows and movies have contractual priority with actors, according to Garner. Work on incomplete projects like his own movie, “Mortal Kombat 2,” needs to be completed first before other projects can begin.

Also Read: Hollywood strike: Why writers, actors protesting in the US. EXPLAINER

“Until we get all these big ships out of the harbor, nothing new is going to be started, unless it’s with actors who previously weren’t committed to something else,” Garner said.

Major media companies experienced a reversal in their stock performance on Monday after an initial increase. Warner Bros Discovery saw a nearly 4% decline, Comcast’s stock dropped by nearly 1%, and Walt Disney’s shares decreased by 0.3%.

Investors in these media firms have been concerned about the financial impact of the strikes. Initially, the strikes led to increased cash flows due to reduced spending, but they are now starting to negatively affect earnings, Reuters noted.

The deal with writers “will also mean the studios and streaming services will now focus fully on actors’ demands,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Already it’s likely that the big studios will face a significant hit in 12-18 months time, with so little in the pipeline and bosses are now desperate for new content to attract eyes to big and small screens.”

Warner Bros Discovery previously warned that the company’s annual adjusted core profit would suffer a setback of up to $500 million due to project delays caused by disruptions.

Since the start of the writers’ strike on May 2, the company’s shares have fallen by almost 14%. Similarly, Paramount, Disney, and Netflix have experienced declines ranging from 20% to 45%. In contrast, the S&P 500 benchmark index has seen an increase of almost 5%.

In contrast, Netflix saw a 1.3% increase in its stock value. Experts have observed that the streaming giant is in a more favorable position compared to other media companies because it has production facilities and staff in regions outside of the United States, which are unaffected by the strike.

“The total spend on shows will be little changed, as studios will either cut spending from other aspects of show production, or reduce the number of new shows they produce (a process already underway) to pay for increased costs from writers,” said Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Updated: 26 Sep 2023, 06:39 AM IST