The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike began on the 1st of May 2023 when the Minimum Basic Agreement expired. Picketing started at 1:00 p.m. PDT on the 2nd of May 2023 outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank and Disney locations.
Writers argued that streaming residuals had cut their average incomes compared to ten years prior because streaming shows like The Problem with Jon Stewart did not fall under the old agreement. The WGA estimated its proposals would yield writers about $6,000 more per year while the AMPTP offer yielded significantly less money for the same work.
The union secured strict regulations on generative artificial intelligence usage within the industry where producers could no longer use AI to replace writers or reduce their pay. Writers' material could not be used to train AI models without consent and digital recreations of writers were also prohibited under the new terms.
Warner Bros. announced its 2023 earnings would drop by $500 million due to the strike. Disney suspended deals with showrunners Mindy Kaling and J.J. Abrams while many films and television programs paused completely or shut down operations entirely.
Union leadership announced the strike would officially end on September 27 at 12:01 a.m. PDT after a tentative agreement was reached on the 24th of September 2023. The dispute lasted 148 days total which tied it with the 1960 strike as the second-longest labor stoppage by the WGA.