Hollywood writers agree to end five-month strike after studio deal

Hollywood writers ended their strike at midnight Pacific time (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday, after nearly five months.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said in a statement that union leaders “voted unanimously to lift the restraining order and end the strike”.

Its 11,500 members will then vote on whether to approve a three-year deal that offers pay raises and protections around use of artificial intelligence.

A separate dispute involves actors, who are also on strike.

The writers’ walkout began on 2 May, which members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) joined on 13 July, making it the longest strike to affect Hollywood in decades. They were striking in a row over pay and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry.

It has cost the US economy around $5bn (£4.08bn), according to an estimate from Milken Institute economist Kevin Klowden.

The dispute has shut down many of America’s top shows, including Billions, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hacks, Severance, Yellowjackets, The Last of Us, Stranger Things, Abbott Elementary and several daytime and late-night talk shows.

Some of them can now return to the air with Bill Maher, host of HBO’s “Real Time,” posting on social media that he would be back with fresh episodes starting Friday.

Earlier this week, screenwriters said they had reached a tentative deal with studio bosses, although no details were given.

However, the end of the WGA strike does not return Hollywood to normal as the actors’ union which walked off the job in July remains on strike.

Just like writers, actors are looking to improve wages, working conditions, and health and pension benefits.

They are also keen to establish guardrails for the use of artificial intelligence in future television and film productions.

The WGA breakthrough could act as a template for SAG-AFTRA to draft its own deal with Hollywood studios.