Do you enjoy relaxing and watching a TV show or movie? Do you have a favorite comfort movie or show? What are some of the aspects that make you love these programs? Depending on the person, people love watching films for a variety of reasons: the plot, characters, scenery, music, drama, humor, and a multitude of other reasons. Amongst all those reasons, if a movie or show doesn’t have good writing, writing that keeps the audience engaged and wanting more, then they won’t continue to watch it. While there are very important roles that are necessary to make a production successful, without good writing there would not be a production at all. So, it may be surprising to find out that in some scenarios, the writers of brilliant films can get paid less than the actors and other departments.

This spring, the WGA Strike began with protesters forming picket lines across the country, specifically Hollywood and New York City. The reason for this strike revolves around the unfair salary of the writers in Hollywood. The new goal of studio productions has become to maximize profits, which has led to an increase in profits by over 39%. While there has been an increase in profit, the writer’s salary has decreased by 4%. In other words,  studios have gotten more recognition and success, while the writers behind these shows have not gotten fair credit and equal pay for their work. The goal of this strike is very understandable: writers wanting the credit and salary they deserve.

While this strike is allowing their voices to be heard, it has halted production for certain shows. An example of this is the late-night comedy shows which have been dark for the recent nights. Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show, Tonight, and Late Night, are examples of some of the shows going on a hiatus during this protest. Saturday Night Live and some long running shows like Cobra Kai, Abbott Elementary, Yellow Jackets, Rings of Power, and Blade, have also stopped production in support of the strike. Even the MTV Movie Awards red carpet has been rolled back up and Drew Barrymore exited her role as the host in support of the strike. In addition to shows halting production to respect writers, some actors and celebrities have been seen standing in solidarity with writers as well, such as Rob Lowe, Nina Dobrev, Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bowen Yang, John Mulaney, Elizabeth Olsen, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, Wanda Sykes, and many more.If nothing changes regarding the unfair treatment of these writers, eventually the pool of clever writers for shows and other entertainment programs will decrease. A decrease in writers due to not enough revenue and jobs will lead to a lack in talented writing. This will then lead to the production of films and shows getting worse. The protesters aren’t protesting against their employers because they don’t like them or want their jobs to change; they just want enough compensation and credit for their work. These writers don’t pursue this job necessarily for fame or money; they do it because they are passionate about it and enjoy creating stories. This has not changed for them. They still want shows and movies to do good; they just want more of a fair deal for the work they put in to make it happen.