Hollywood Writers Land "Exceptional" Tentative Deal To End WGA Strike

The Hollywood writers strike, which began in early May, may finally be coming to an end. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) landed a "tentative" agreement on September 24, the writers' guild announced. Hollywood actors, meanwhile, remain on strike as part of the SAG-AFTRA work stoppage.

"This was made possibly by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who stood with us for over 146 days," the guild said in a statement.

The contract language is still being finalized, but the writers' guild did say that "this deal is exceptional," which suggests its terms are favorable to the guild. It will offer "meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership," the statement said. The guild was asking for better pay, viewership-based residuals, protections against AI, and more.

For context, Deadline reminds us that during the last WGA strike in 2007-2008, a tentative deal was reached on the 96th day and took until the 100th day for the strike to officially end.

This isn't a totally done deal just yet, though, as the agreement still requires it to be "codified in final contract language." The guild said it is eager to share the full terms of the deal but cannot do so at this time. Once the language is final, the WGA's negotiating committee will vote on whether to recommended the agreement and send it to the guild's board and council for approval. Then, the board and council will vote on whether to authorize the deal officially.

Should that happen, the same board and council will also vote on lifting the order to end the strike at a certain to-be-determined date. This would give guild members the ability to return to work as the ratification of the vote is ongoing. These votes are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 26, at which time the guild will provide a "comprehensive summary" of the deal and what it means for writers.

"To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the guild. We are still on strike until then. But we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing," the guild said, adding that it encourages WGA members to join the SAG-AFTRA picket lines. Hollywood actors in SAG-AFTRA have been on strike since July.

This was the first time since 1960--when Ronald Regan was head of SAG-AFTRA--that both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA were on strike at the same time. Video game actors could have gone on strike this time, too, but whether or not that happens now that the WGA has struck a deal is unknown. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.