Everyone in Hollywood Is Holding Their Breath As The WGA Meeting With Top Showrunners Canceled, Negotiations Poised to Resume

Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel for the standoff between the WGA and the AMPTP?

Kenya Barris, Sam Esmail, Noah Hawley and Dan Fogelman were among a dozen showrunners set for an informational meeting with guild leadership Friday that will no longer take place as the WGA and AMPTP head back to the bargaining table. This news hits as continued requests for media blackouts of negotiation terms are going into effect to try and meet an amicable treaty that pays creatives fairly for their work. Studios reap billions each year on the backs of the creative endeavors and IP developed by creatives who are unfairly being left in the dust. Could this round of negotiations see the end of the strike?

As Friday comes to a close this current WGA strike wraps its 20th week and inches toward an October date that would make it the longest in the guild’s history! This is not hearsay. Both the AMPTP and WGA have confirmed that they are scheduling time to return to the table. The WGA’s longest strike was in 1988 and lasted 154 days. Friday, Sept. 15, is the 137th day of the WGA strike. SAG-AFTRA, which represents performers, has also been on strike since July 14.

“On Wednesday, Sept. 13, the WGA reached out to the AMPTP and asked for a meeting to move negotiations forward,” the AMPTP said in a statement Thursday. “We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting next week. Every member company of the AMPTP is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to working together with the WGA to end the strike.”