Writers Return To Work As The WGA Strike Was Averted In The Eleventh Hour

Good news for The Walking Dead fans! Good news for everyone who likes TV, really, and for everyone who writes for TV. The impending writers’ strike — which would affect The Walking Dead as well as several other shows including SNL, late night talk shows, American Horror Story, Jessica Jones, and a lot more — appears to be over before (right before) it was going to start. The deadline for a deal was midnight PST on Monday, and that’s when the deal reportedly went through, meaning a whole lot of writers were up late on Twitter joking/worrying about whether they’d go to work this morning.

Last month, the Writers Guild of America voted 96.3% in favor of a strike if demands weren’t met. They were petitioning the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers for increased contributions to the Writers Guild healthcare plan and for additional pay for writers who are asked to work more than two weeks on a single episode of a short-order series. The latter request is especially reasonable, considering many series now have fewer episodes per season, yet may require the writers to work longer hours on each episode while only paying on a per-episode basis, effectively reducing their hourly wage substantially.

Variety reports a deal was struck after roughly thirteen hours of tense negotiations. It came right down to the wire; Variety’s sources were “reporting pessimism about the prospect of the sides reaching a deal just two hours before” the deadline.

Many writers dealt with the uncertainty by cracking jokes on Twitter:

— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) May 2, 2017

I’m going to bed because I either have a show to run in the morning or a 10:50am showing of that movie where Katherine Heigl masturbates.

— Stephen Falk (@stephenfalk) May 2, 2017

I am standing outside CBS with a torch, but I left a jacket I really like in there. Pls advise. #wgaunity

— Eliza Skinner (@elizaskinner) May 2, 2017

Okay. I have it from three sources. WE HAVE A DEAL. #WGAUNITY

— David Slack (@slack2thefuture) May 2, 2017

Tonight when I watch porn… I'm gonna pay a little extra attention… to the plot ; ) #WGAUnity

— Ian Karmel (@IanKarmel) May 2, 2017

If I can't write tomorrow then I gotta go and act again. You guys really want that #WGAStrike #WGAunity

— Breckin Meyer (@breckinmeyer) May 2, 2017

@JasFly I hear the AMPTP has just sweetened their contract offer with tickets for all writers to a luxury music festival in The Bahamas. #wgaunity

— Mike Farnan (@mfarnan) May 2, 2017

I want to go to work tomorrow. But I also want writers to go to work twenty years from tomorrow. #wgaunity

— josh friedman (@Josh_Friedman) May 2, 2017