What Happened to 2023 Hollywood Strikes (WGA and SAG-AFTRA)?

The 2023 Hollywood strikes represented a watershed moment for the entertainment industry, as both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) initiated simultaneous work stoppages against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). This dual strike, the first since 1960, was primarily driven by fundamental shifts in the industry, particularly the rise of streaming services and the burgeoning threat of artificial intelligence (AI).

Writers, who began their strike on May 2, 2023, for 148 days, demanded increased compensation, a fairer share of streaming residuals, minimum staffing requirements for writers' rooms, and robust protections against AI being used to generate scripts or undermine their credits. Actors joined the picket lines on July 14, 2023, for 118 days, with similar concerns regarding compensation, residuals, and, critically, explicit consent and payment for the use of their likenesses and performances by AI and digital replicas. The strikes caused significant economic disruption, with estimates of the cost to the California economy ranging from $3 billion to $5 billion.

Key turning points included prolonged negotiations, initial breakdowns, and intense public pressure. The WGA reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP on September 24, 2023, which was overwhelmingly ratified by its members on October 9, 2023. This deal included significant gains in minimums, a new streaming success bonus, and groundbreaking AI protections, ensuring AI could not write or rewrite literary material and companies could not require writers to use AI. SAG-AFTRA followed suit, reaching a tentative agreement on November 8, 2023, which was ratified by its membership on December 5, 2023. Their contract secured substantial increases in minimum salaries, a streaming success bonus, and crucial guardrails around AI, requiring explicit consent and compensation for digital replicas and notification for generative AI use.

As of 2026, the industry has seen further labor negotiations. The WGA ratified a new four-year Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) on April 24, 2026, effective May 2, 2026, through May 1, 2030. This agreement injected an estimated $321 million into the Health Fund (including $280 million in new contributions from studios), increased minimums by 1.5% in the first year and 3% annually thereafter, and improved streaming residuals, though it did not commit studios to pay writers for AI training using their scripts. SAG-AFTRA also concluded its 2026 TV/Theatrical Agreement negotiations, which members ratified on June 4, 2026, with 91.42% approval. This four-year contract, effective July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, further strengthened AI protections by requiring producers to demonstrate "significant additional value" for AI performers over human actors and included a plan to merge the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund by 2028, alongside annual minimum wage increases.

Despite these new agreements, challenges persist. A WGA report in August 2026 indicated the first-ever decline in streaming residuals for writers in 2025, highlighting ongoing financial pressures. The continued evolution of AI and the economics of streaming remain central to future labor discussions, with unions committed to protecting human creativity and fair compensation in a rapidly changing media landscape.