Screenwriters on strike: Hollywood grinds to a halt
Writers claim they are treated as gig workers and set to be replaced by AI

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
One of the most famous telegrams in Hollywood history was sent in 1925, said Michael Schulman in The New Yorker.
It was from Herman J. Mankiewicz, the future co-writer of Citizen Kane, to his journalist friend Ben Hecht, urging him to move west and get into screenwriting, which Hecht later did, to great acclaim. “Millions are to be grabbed out here,” Mankiewicz told him, “and your only competition is idiots”. How times have changed.
‘Birth of reality TV’
Last week, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union representing most of Hollywood’s TV and movie scribes, went on strike in protest at poor pay and working conditions. It’s the WGA’s first strike in 15 years, said Chris Murphy and Savannah Walsh in Vanity Fair, and it could have interesting consequences.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The last strike, which went on for 100 days, delivered a boost to reality TV shows, which had the advantage of not needing a script. One show that emerged from that time and won huge ratings was Celebrity Apprentice, fronted by a certain Donald Trump.
‘Replaceable widgets’
The screenwriters have good reason to be unhappy, said Rick Cleveland in the Los Angeles Times. When I got into the trade 20 or so years ago, you could still make a decent living. You could work with directors on set and in editing, and go on to work as a co-producer. Royalties from the reruns of TV shows helped you through lean times. Today, though, writers are treated as gig workers, taken on for short contracts and let go before the production of their show even begins. And the streaming services that now dominate the industry pay out lower royalties. The business is making more money than ever, but it’s turning writers into “replaceable widgets”.
There’s another “huge issue” troubling writers, said Alissa Wilkinson on Vox: the rise of AI. They’re worried about studios using algorithmic tools to generate ideas for plots, or even scripts, and then hiring writers to polish them up. Writers could then be paid at a lower rate, since technically they’d be “adapting” an idea rather than creating original content. Given that many TV series and movies are, by their nature, “highly formulaic” – think police procedurals and romcoms – this fear is well grounded. Alas, the WGA is probably fighting a losing battle against AI, said Liz Wolfe in Reason. Some already fear the worst. As the writer C. Robert Cargill puts it: “You think Hollywood feels samey now? Wait until it’s just the same 100 people rewriting ChatGPT.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Why is the government on the brink of a shutdown?
Today's Big Question GOP infighting is bringing the country to a standstill, but even Republicans aren't entirely sure why
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Today’s political cartoons — September 29, 2023
Friday's cartoons - Biden's dog bite incident, the government shutdown and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
'A teetering democracy of gerontocrats?'
Instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass Published
-
Properties of the week: European coastal escapes
The Week Recommends Featuring a 300-year-old rustic finca in Alicante and a secluded villa with sea views in Sardinia
By The Week Staff Published
-
Video game actors might also go on strike
The Explainer Another possible SAG-AFTRA strike is looming, this one involving video game performers
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Marina Abramović at the Royal Academy review
The Week Recommends Exhibition looks back at the spectacular highlights of her five-decade career
By The Week Staff Published
-
Fernando Botero obituary: artist of 'whimsical rotundity'
Obituary Colombian painter and sculptor was known for his 'exuberant style'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Boys from the Blackstuff review
The Week Recommends A 'powerful' adaptation of Alan Bleasdale's 'masterpiece'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? review
The Week Recommends Channel 4 documentary grapples with 'profound' questions about the 'climate apocalypse'
By The Week Staff Published
-
When will your favorite show be back now that the writers strike is over?
The Explainer Here's when to expect new episodes of the late-night shows, 'SNL,' and more
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
MG4 EV XPower review: what the car critics say
Feature The XPower just 'isn't as much fun' as a regular MG4
By The Week Staff Published