The Writers Guild of America has recently reached an impasse with major studios, and have until May 1 to figure things out. The main issues on the table are higher minimum wages and improved health care access.
Many will probably remember the original writers strike that hit in 2007-2008, which was instigated largely be online content rights. It put a massive damper on a year’s worth of television, most notably reducing the first season of breaking bad to seven episodes. Much of the push for a new strike comes from the growing trend in Hollywood to reduce the number of episodes in a season from twenty-two, to ten, thereby halving the amount of money writers can expect to receive from their work on a show. As it stands, talks between the Writers Guild and studios are set to resume on Tuesday, April 25, which will then only leave one week for the two forces to hash out an agreement. It’s also worth noting that 96% of the Writers Guild of America voted to green light a strike should no agreement with the studios be reached. By comparison, 90% of the 2007 – 2008 guild had voted yes to authorizing a strike. So, once the talks resume, both sides are going to need to work quickly
