Is an end to the Hollywood strike in sight? Hopes for a deal rise as studio heads join talks

WGA members have been on strike since early May, with actors joining the picket line in July in a separate dispute, bringing production on many Hollywood television shows and films to a halt.

The dispute has centered on issues including pay, working conditions, writers’ demands for greater royalties for their work, known in the industry as residuals, and for stricter protections against artificial intelligence.

The labor stoppages have have put many rank-and-file members in precarious financial situations and brought the industry to a virtual standstill.

Among the shows and films that have been affected are “Gladiator 2” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two,” along with hit shows “Stranger Things” and “Yellowstone.”

Some independent films received waivers from guilds to keep shooting, while Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher earlier this month walked back plans to resume production on their talk shows amid the strike.

Barrymore said she decided to press “pause” on the decision to resume production after facing backlash over the plan.

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote.” I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today.”

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Maher similarly said he would delay production in respect of the strikes after his show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” was set to resume production.

“My decision to return to work was made when it seemed nothing was happening and there was no end in sight to this strike,” Maher wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Now that both sides have agreed to go back to the negotiating table I’m going to delay the return of Real Time, for now, and hope they can finally get this done.”

The strike has not only affected Hollywood workers and viewers, with concerns also mounting over its economic impact. In a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Warner Bros. Discovery said it assumed it would be “negatively impacted” by the strikes by up to $500 million.