admin The season of Hollywood unrest that kicked off when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA both went on strike earlier this year has finally concluded, with SAG-AFTRA reaching a tentative deal to end the actors’ strike on Wednesday (just a few months after the WGA reached its own deal in September).
Of course, the deal isn’t done quite yet, as SAG-AFTRA’s approximately 160,000 members still have to vote on whether to accept it. Key topics that have been central to negotiations include increased compensation for actors on streaming platforms, improved health-care options, and protections around the use of AI that some actors have worried could put them out of work entirely.
“The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories,” the studio trade association said in a statement, but a post on SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher’s Instagram page was far more ebullient: “We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke everywhere!Ty sag aftra members for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal!” Other actors, including Jeremy Allen White, Octavia Spencer and Busy Philipps, have also been quick to cheer the proposed end of the strike on social media, with Mandy Moore summing it up best on Instagram: “Let’s get back to work, friends.”
