Thousands of film and TV writers are heading to the picket lines Tuesday to fight for pay increases and other benefits — forcing all four of the major late-night shows to halt production.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced that its 11,500 screenwriter members in California, New York and other cities will refuse to work after the union and studios failed to agree on a new three-year contract after their current one expired just after midnight.
As a result, Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show,” “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” have all been shut down.
The board of directors at WGA, who voted unanimously to call for Hollywood’s first strike in 15 years, claimed that the leading companies have made it difficult for writers to hold down a steady job.
“The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” the WGA said in a statement.
“From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a ‘day rate’ in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession,” the labor union continued.
