It’s been a tricky couple of years for the tv writers’ group.
The Writers Guild of America revealed Friday that the variety of TV writing jobs fell by 42% for the 2023-2024 season. In a brand new report, the guild stated that there have been 1,319 tv writing jobs in 2023-24, in contrast with 1,819 in 2022-2023.
This comes after the WGA spent months preventing the studios for a new contract, one thing the guild stated was partly responsible for the brand new statistics. Different causes included the decline in authentic programming throughout the cable networks, and streamers pulling again from the variety of exhibits “as Wall Road calls for faster streaming platform earnings.”
There have additionally been a slew of cancellations and ending of exhibits. In response to guild knowledge, about 37% fewer WGA-covered episodic TV collection aired within the 2023-2024 season.
Most stark was the variety of jobs misplaced for showrunners and co-exec producers, which noticed 642 fewer jobs throughout the 12 months. There have been 378 fewer workers author, story editor and government story editor positions in comparison with the earlier season in addition to 299 fewer mid-level jobs, which embody co-producers, consulting and supervising producers.
There was a fairly precipitous fall because the 2018-2019 season with 1,508 showrunners and co-exec producers in comparison with the 952 there have been final season.
Screenwriting work has additionally declined, however to a lesser diploma, with screenwriter earnings down 6% for the primary three quarters of 2024 and the variety of screenwriters working down 15%.
“Writing careers have at all times been tough to entry and maintain, however the contraction has made it particularly difficult. We’re all topic to the selections of the businesses that management this trade, who’ve pulled again spending on content material based mostly on the calls for of Wall Road. Compounding that, the present administration appears intent on inflicting financial chaos and undermining our democracy,” the e-mail stated.
The report was despatched to members by the WGA West board of administrators and WGA East council.
The WGA, which represents over 10,000 writers, went on strike between Might 2 and September 27 2023. The strike was the second longest strike within the guild’s historical past at 148 days, tied with the strike in 1960 however beneath the 153 days that the 1988 strike lasted. It coincided with the SAG-AFTRA strike, which ran from July 14-November 9, 2023.
