The SAG-AFTRA Strike Is (Tentatively) Over. What's Next?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | November 9, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | November 9, 2023 |

After 118 long, grueling days on top of the 148-day work stoppage from the WGA strike, SAG-AFTRA has finally reached tentative terms with the studios. The strike ended this morning at 12:01 a.m. All that’s left now is for the actors to ratify the agreement.

The details of the agreement have not been released, but the guild seems to be pleased with the terms.

In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize cmpensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.

Production will restart soon. Projects in mid-production like Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, Venom 3, and Clint Eastwood’s Juror No. 2 will kick back into gear ASAP, and the hope is to keep as much of what’s left of the summer 2024 blockbuster season intact.

It will take a few weeks to get television shows back in production, and the broadcast network season will be markedly different. Actual shooting on most series may not begin until after the new year. Most new series will be pushed to the fall while returning series — which do not require as much casting or set building — will likely be back after the Super Bowl with 10-13 episode seasons. That means that shows we heard about last Spring — Matlock, Poppa’s House, Dr. Wolf, Rescue: Hi-Surf, and St. Denis Medical — are moving to fall 2024, although The Good Wife/The Good Fight spinoff Elsbeth will still debut in the Spring, along with a Justin Hartley series called Tracker.

The most immediate impact the majority of us will feel will be that actors will begin promoting their projects again. Expect Brie Larson to be all over the place next week pushing The Marvels, along with Rachel Zegler and Hunter Schaeffer pushing the Hunger Games prequel. Anna Kendrick will be back out there to promote Trolls 3, although I bet that Justin Timberlake — given what’s going on with Britney’s memoir — wishes the strike were still ongoing. Interview podcasts like WTF with Marc Maron, Smartless, Conan, and Dax Shepard will get A-listers back in their seats, too, so when they stick their feet in their mouth, we’ll have something to write about. I miss actors sticking their feet in their mouths.