Hollywood actors reach tentative agreement to end strike

Hollywood studios and the actors’ union have reached a tentative agreement to end the 118-day strike, meaning production on movies and TV shows, including Young Sheldon, can resume soon.

This agreement comes after two weeks of renewed negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streamers, and SAG-AFTRA, the union for actors and performers.

When the strike concludes on Thursday, it will bring to an end over six months of disruption as first the writers and then actors walked on strike in an effort to improve their working conditions. The writers’ union struck an agreement to return to work last month.

SAG-AFTRA said the new three-year deal is “valued at over one billion dollars” and includes “above-pattern minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus.”

Writers for network TV shows returned to work last month, and actors are expected to commence work in the next few weeks, some as soon as the week after Thanksgiving. However, upcoming holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas limit the number of episodes that can be produced before the New Year. Given the late start to the season, network shows are expected to produce between 10 and 13 episodes, down from the typical 22-24, with some shows set to return as early as January.

Young Sheldon is set to return to CBS for its seventh season, the last of a three season deal struck in 2021. Executive producer Steve Holland has mentioned that there were discussions about the seventh season being Young Sheldon's last. However, the producers recognised the prospect of a strike-shortened season could mean they would not be able to tell all the stories they wish to tell.