Studios say talks with striking writers may resume next week

Contract negotiations between Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters may resume next week, the studios said in a statement Thursday. A return to bargaining – the last talks took place three weeks ago – could be a turning point in the strike, now in its fifth month.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on behalf of entertainment companies, and the Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,000 television and film writers, have been wrangling over the measures. Last month, the studios softened their offer for a new three-year contract — and then, in an unusual move, publicly revealed the details, hoping union members would be satisfied and pressure their leaders to reach an agreement.

Union leaders, who denounced the revelations, have since insisted that the onus is on the studios to continue improving their offering. The studios rejected this request, considering that they would be negotiating against themselves.

On Wednesday, the Writers Guild took action, according to a statement from the Studio Alliance.

“The WGA has reached out to the AMPTP and requested a meeting to move negotiations forward,” the coalition said. “We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting next week.” The coalition added that it was “keen” to reach an agreement and was committed “to working with the WGA to end the strike.”

The Writers Guild said in an email to members that it was “in the process of setting a date to return to the chamber” but declined to comment further.

The guild has reached out to the studios amid frustration from some of its star members, including Ryan Murphy (“American Horror Story”), Kenya Barris (“Black-ish”), Noah Hawley (“Fargo”) and Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us”). Some have called union leaders to ask specific questions. “Why can’t you go into the negotiating room with studio representatives and not come out until an agreement is reached?” Others called for a sit-in to hear their union’s strategy for resolving the strike.

The financial toll on people across the entertainment industry is becoming increasingly bleak. Show makers like Mr. Murphy employ thousands of crew members on their productions, leaving them besieged by people asking when they can return to work and having no answers.

The strike, which lasted 136 days, is one of the longest in the history of the Writers Guild. (The longest period was 153 days in 1988.) The union described this moment as “existential,” claiming that the era of live streaming has led to a deterioration in its members’ working conditions and compensation levels.

The studios have defended their proposal as offering the highest pay raise for writers in more than three decades, while also offering protections against artificial intelligence and signaling a willingness to discuss minimum staffing in TV writers’ rooms.