Jimmy Kimmel Live! is among the many late night shows going dark this week

Why are Hollywood writers going on strike and which shows are affected?

Negotiations between studios and the writers began in March

TV and film writer

May 3, 2023May 3, 2023, 11:51 AM GMT+1

Hollywood movie and television writers went on strike on Tuesday, ending 15 years of labor peace in the industry and bringing many productions to a standstill.

But why exactly are the Hollywood writers going on strike and which shows have been impacted? Read on to find out…

Why are Hollywood writers going on strike?

The writers are going on strike in a dispute over fair pay. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) called on their members to head to the picket lines after failing to reach a new contract deal with the studios before the writers' current deal expired on Monday night.

"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. "No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership."

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The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which bargains on behalf of Hollywood companies including NBC Universal, Paramount, Sony, Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney, said it offered "generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals."

Which shows will be affected by the strike?

The guild told its members that all script writing is to cease at once, which means writing work will immediately halt for movies, television and streaming.

The late-night shows will feel the instant effects of the strike, with Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, among those expected to go dark.

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It would take a long strike before the release of new TV shows and movies is slowed down.

Seth Myers, the host of NBC's Late Night, addressed the strike during a web-only segment of his show last week. "It doesn't just affect the writers," he said. "It affects all the incredible nonwriting staff on these shows. And it would really be a miserable thing for people to have to go through, especially considering we’re on the heels of that awful pandemic."

He went on to say that he is a proud member of the WGA and that what the writers were asking for was "not unreasonable".

WATCH: Seth Myers addresses Hollywood writers strike on Late Night

"If you don't see me here next week, know that it is something that is not done lightly, and that I will be heartbroken to miss you as well," he added.

Not only will the walkout, which could last for several weeks or months, halt various TV and film productions across the country, but will also mean temporary job losses for crew members.

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