WGA Strikes Tentative Four-Year Deal With AMPTP, First Union to Close This Cycle
The Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP reached a tentative four-year deal on Saturday April 5, making the WGA the first above-the-line union to close a contract this cycle. The deal includes AI protections and increased streaming residuals, per Deadline sources, in exchange for a longer contract term. The AMPTP also agreed to inject $37 million into the WGA health plan, which had been running at a deficit. SAG-AFTRA talks are expected to resume in June with current contracts expiring June 30, while the DGA is not scheduled to begin bargaining until May. New AMPTP chief Greg Hessinger, a former CBS labor director and ex-SAG CEO, led a more conciliatory approach than his predecessor.
THE BREAKDOWN
A four-year WGA deal reduces near-term strike risk that was chilling talent deals throughout 2025, but the AI protections are the detail agents need to track closely. If those provisions establish a floor on how AI-generated scripts can be used in production, that reshapes how studios price writer-adjacent creative work. SAG-AFTRA still needs a deal before June 30, and the AMPTP's push for a longer-term structure in the WGA deal will almost certainly surface again in actor negotiations. Any agent representing on-screen talent should watch whether the WGA's AI terms become a template or a starting position in the SAG talks.
Get the full briefing weekly
Read by talent managers, agents, and brand partnership professionals every Friday.