Hollywood actors could soon return to work.
SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents more than 150,000 film and television artists, reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday on a new contract with the entertainment world’s top studios — a major step that will revive an industry that has been virtually paralyzed for months.
“In a unanimous vote this afternoon, the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved a tentative agreement with AMPTP that ends the 118-day strike,” the actors’ union said in a statement, adding that the strike officially ends at :01 Thursday.
SAG-AFTRA said the tentative agreement will go to the union’s national board on Friday for “review and consideration” and more details will be released after the meeting.
Tens of thousands of actors went on strike on July 14 after SAG-AFTRA failed to reach an agreement on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a trade group that negotiates with studios and streaming services. (The group represents Comcast, which owns NBC News.)
The tentative agreement caps weeks of negotiations that at one point were attended by four of the most powerful executives in modern Hollywood, according to a source familiar with the talks: Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav and NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley.
The deal comes after negotiators for the Writers Guild of America, a union representing Hollywood screenwriters, reached their own agreement with the studios on a new three-year contract, known as a “minimum basic agreement.” The writer’s strike officially ended at 12:01 a.m. PT on September 27.
The two unions made similar demands, including stricter protections against the use of artificial intelligence, higher base compensation and a bigger cut of streaming profits. Both unions had not gone on strike at the same time since 1960.
The twin strikes nearly shut down Hollywood and halted production on dozens of projects — from sequels to big-budget movies to network series and streaming originals. The work stoppages also put many everyday actors and writers in financially precarious situations.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hailed the tentative deal, saying it would “affect almost every part of our economy.”
“I am grateful that a fair agreement has been reached between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP after a more than 100-day strike that affected millions in Los Angeles and across the country,” Bass said in a statement. “Those on the line have been hardest hit during this period and there have been ripple effects throughout our city.”
“We must lean on local production to ensure that our entertainment industry returns stronger than ever and our economy is able to get back on its feet,” she added.
The strikes came amid intense structural upheaval in Hollywood, which is grappling with how to embrace the digital era, survive the decline in traditional TV ratings and deal with the rise of AI technologies, which many creatives see as an existential threat.
