EXCLUSIVE: In a major bargaining plot twist, the Writers Guild of America became the first of the three above-the-line entertainment unions to finalize a tentative deal with the major studios and streamers on Saturday.
Given the writers guild’s historically contentious relationship with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, it is quite intriguing that the parties made a deal so quickly. The two began negotiating in mid-March and, pending ratification from the rank-and-file members, they’ve now got a new four-year contract that includes AI protections and an uptick in fees and residuals for streaming, we’re told.
We’ve been told the now Greg Hessinger-led AMPTP took a much different approach with the writers than his predecessor Carol Lombardi had in recent bargaining cycles.
“We want a reset in the relationship, and we’re going to do our part,” a labor insider told Deadline recently. “We’re having constructive dialogue.”
As we have previously reported, the union’s health plan was in serious need of a cash infusion after operating in a deficit over the last several years. Prior to negotiations, the WGA East and West revealed that there had been an added $37M in health plan costs in 2025 to sustain coverage amid a turbulent time in film and TV that has left many unemployed. The AMPTP were ready to offer this infusion, but in exchange were looking for a longer contract cycle — an idea that we hear was met with hesitancy from both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
In fact, we understand this is one of the sticking points that kept the actors’ union from securing their own deal before having to pause to make way for the writers. According to our sources, SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland made it clear that some airtight AI protections would be necessary to get the union to agree to a longer deal. It’s unclear how the writers’ deal might impact SAG-AFTRA’s ability to remain obstinate.
Newly elected DGA President Christopher Nolan also told Deadline earlier this year that he didn’t see the directors union accepting any longer deals, especially not in exchange for healthcare. He didn’t exactly rule it out either, saying that “the DGA prides itself on being open to discussing anything”.
He did, however, argue that the industry is evolving too rapidly for longer deals to be realistic, adding: “If we had agreed to a five-year contract in March of 2020, where would we be now? We are living in an industry where things are shifting very, very fast in terms of how they choose to run their businesses, and there are no assurances they’d be able to give us on how that’s settling down or what that path would be.”
SAG-AFTRA is expected to go back to the negotiating table in June, if not sooner, since the DGA isn’t scheduled to bargain with the AMPTP until May. Both unions’ current contracts expire June 30.
As for the writers, the labor insider says there was “no negative reaction” to the AMPTP’s initial proposal.
“It was treated as the serious proposal that it was. There were no dismissive remarks made about it,” they said.
The WGA is unlikely to release specific details about the deal until it is ratified by membership. We hear that, in addition to the bolsters to the residuals and AI protections, talks also includes “expanded” discussions about development rooms.
In a conversation ahead of these talks, WGA West negotiating committee co-chair Danielle Sanchez-Witzel told Deadline that the writers would be “looking at targeted changes in development rooms and rooms with larger episode orders, and in production where our current requirements actually exclude too many shows”.
Deadline understands the WGA agreed to some sidebar conversations, outside of official bargaining sessions, that included groups of additional writers to illustrate the issues. These meetings also speak to the difference in the relationship between the parties since 2023.
“That was just an unthinkable thing three years ago,” a person with knowledge of negotiations told Deadline.
It’s an interesting turn of events, if not entirely unexpected. Hessinger is a former Director of Labor Relations for CBS and ex-CEO/National Director of the Screen Actors Guild, meaning he’s been privy to both sides of these talks before. When he took the job, we understand he was looking to cool off the relationship between the studios and the above-the-line unions after the strikes, which were historically long due in large part to the extremely contentious dynamic between the two sides — and between the WGA and the AMPTP, especially.
The writers were on strike for 148 days in 2023. The work stoppage was overwhelmingly approved by the rank-and-file via a strike authorization vote weeks before the contract was up. This time, the WGA never even held a strike authorization vote.
While there seems to have been a relatively peaceful dynamic inside the SAG-AFTRA building over the past few weeks, the same cannot be said for things outside on Wilshire Blvd where the WGA West‘s staff has been picketing the writers’ negotiations amid a seven-week strike. Now that the WGA seems to have wrapped up talks with the AMPTP, western executive director and chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman will likely need to turn her attention to that debacle.
So far, talks between the WGSU and the WGAW have been led by the western division’s general counsel Sean Graham. We hear Stutzman has officially been involved in talks twice, but there have also been a few unofficial sidebars with some of the staff regarding issues.
Earlier this week, the striking WGAW staff discovered that they would be booted off their health insurance plans effective April 1. At that time, person with knowledge told Deadline that Stutzman had made it clear in those prior conversations “what the path to a deal looks like”. That path is basically to take the March 11 offer that management put on the table, but we’re told there’s still some room for negotiation.