Hollywood Actors Union Agree to Extend Contract With Studios as Talks Continue

Writers on strike march with signs on the picket line on day four of the strike by the Writers Guild of America in front of Netflix in Hollywood, California on May 5, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) actors union and Hollywood producers agreed to an extension of the 2020 TV/theatrical contracts on June 30, which were to expire at 11:59 p.m. Friday evening, avoiding a possible strike for now.

The agreements will now expire on July 12 at 11:59 p.m., according to a joint statement from the SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios, television networks, and streaming services.

In the meantime, the parties will continue to negotiate under a mutually agreed upon media blackout.

“In order to exhaust every opportunity to achieve the righteous contract we all demand and deserve, after thorough deliberation it was unanimously decided to allow additional time to negotiate,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a message to union members. “No one should mistake this extension for weakness.”

Despite progress in talks, significant differences remain, sources told the Los Angeles Times. Key issues in the negotiations include how to measure streaming residuals and secure protections against the abuse of artificial intelligence, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Union members have overwhelmingly authorized their national board to call a strike if it is deemed necessary.

Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP began on June 7.

Friday’s extension agreement comes at a time when the Writers Guild of America is in the ninth week of a strike that has shuttered virtually all scripted productions. There is no word of negotiations between the writers guild and the AMPTP, despite the writers guild’s calls for talks to resume.

Friday’s agreement also comes just under a month after AMPTP reached a three-year deal with the Directors Guild of America. The pact was overwhelmingly ratified by directors guild members on June 24.

The deal between the directors guild and AMPTP includes a 12.5 percent salary increase over a three-year period for directors, plus a “substantial” increase in residuals for streaming content—including a 76 percent increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms and mutual confirmation that artificial intelligence is not a person and cannot replace the duties performed by directors guild members.

That deal came after less than a month of negotiations, ahead of a June 30 expiration of the directors guild’s previous contract.