After long and hard negotiations conducted remotely, the WGA and the AMPTP have secured a tentative overall deal that brings much-desired labor stability to an industry already hobbled by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
After a last-ditch marathon bargaining session that stretched in the early hours Wednesday, the sides — which by all accounts had a fairly no-drama negotiation for the past several weeks — secured an agreement to take to the guild’s membership for ratification.
As usual, details of the deal were not released in the immediate hours after the agreement, which closely mirrors the deal reached between the DGA and producers in March.
Most significantly, source tell Deadline that the new tentative agreement contains “significant movement” and “flexibility” on the exclusive options that tether writers to series regardless of their length. This in particular, has been a major thorn in the guild’s paw for the past several years with the rise of streaming platforms and varying series episode orders.
As has been customary during the past several contract cycles, the WGA is expected to take the deal to its members for ratification quickly. An individual familiar with the talks and the tentative agreement tells Deadline that the process “will clearly be different” from past ratification votes due the to COVID-19 crisis.
Representatives for the WGA and the AMPTP have not responded to requests for comment.
We will update with more details as they become available.
Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.