As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike enters its third week, many are likely by now familiar with the groups of Hollywood writers, actors and producers protesting outside network studios in major cities across the country. On social media and the daily news, humorous picket signs calling on studio executives for a fair deal and “Do the Write Thing!” have become essential images. But for many outside the entertainment industry, the nuances of the strike may still be hazy.
In a interview with more perfect union picketing in New York last week, a veteran writer and longtime member of the WGA David Simon broke the strike and what it means for writers and the future of television as a storytelling medium. Simon is best known for creating Thread (2002–2008) and his work on several other critically acclaimed television shows.
Drawing on his past experience in the entertainment industry, Simon explained how writers’ contracts lasted longer and paid “a decent enough rate” that allowed them to “earn a living”.
“You still had to find the job, but the job would pay you enough that it’s plausible that you could afford a mortgage or health insurance,” he said.
As TV shows moved away from broadcast to subscription-based streaming services, TV writing also evolved from full-time work to gig-based work.
“Now they’re going to start a mini room, and they’ll be like, ‘Here’s three weeks pay,'” Simon said, referring to how the studios cut screenwriting staff and replaced them with ‘minis’. pre-production. teams consisting only of the show-runner working alongside two or three short-term writers. “‘Oh, and by the way, we don’t guarantee you’ll get a script for the script – just three weeks’ pay. Just come and give us your ideas. We can do the show, we can hire you. We can’t hire you. Then go find another gig.” From the WGA’s perspective, the growing popularity of these mini-rooms has led to a slump in writers’ pay rates and also made it harder for writers to advance in their career.
Simon also explained how these short-term contracts for streaming series unfairly favor production companies, as they prevent writers from seeking other work and generating income from other writing projects. “And then you have to survive, and you have to raise a family with it. It’s crazy,” Simon said.
Simon also pointed out how cutting the show’s writers not only “is destructive to the hearts of a writing team”, but it also creates tedious work for the show-runners and will ultimately hurt the longevity of a show. issue. “The writers understand the story better than anyone,” he said. “The actors understand their characters perfectly, better than the scriptwriters. Directors understand plans better than screenwriters. But it’s the writers who understand the story.
Simon continued on how this “gig economy” for writers also prevents them from learning the skills to become “better writers and better producers.”
“You are not cultivating the future,” he said.
Simon also shared some thoughts on AI, a tool that has been a source of contention between creatives and industry executives and a sticking point in the ongoing strike. He said that while generative technology can be a useful tool for writers in the same way dictionaries and thesauri have historically been, relying entirely on “derivative form” to tell quality stories n is not sustainable in the long term.
“This derivative work is never going to break new ground,” he argued. “In the short term, you might fool some people into watching 10 shitty episodes, but over time the viewership for that will go down.”
May 11, Simon shared on Twitter that HBO had suspended its contract “after 25 years of television writing for them”. In a follow-up posthe noted that the suspension was in response to the strike and “not unexpected”.
Deadline previously reported that HBO and other major studios have sent out suspension letters since the WGA officially went on strike earlier this month.
Although suspensions are common during strikes, what really concerns many protesters is the potential termination under a provision known as force majeure. A clause which allows one or both parties to break their contract in the event that unforeseen circumstances (“force majeure”) prevent them from fulfilling their contractual obligations, force majeure has been famously used by major studios to secure production deals in 2008 during the last Hollywood strike.
Although different studios have different premises to invoke force majeure, many strikers are preparing for possible terminations of agreements in the coming weeks.
“I had my run, and it’s okay,” Simon said. “The younger ones coming in, they deserve a career.”
