The Writing on THE WALL

The promise of poststrike opportunities kept TV writers from losing hope last year. Now a new season of bleak financial realities is testing their resolve all over again.

- Joy Press

WHEN TV WRITERS were trying to stay afloat through last year's strikes-and not everyone ultimately could-they kept their eyes on 2024, with visions of plentiful writers rooms and new series pickups dancing in their heads. Instead, they have returned to an industry gripped by low-level paralysis. "It's brutal out there," says Alyssa Clark, a writer on Servant and The 100.

"Most of my acquaintances are taking other jobs to survive." Is this their reward for surviving widespread layoffs, a crippling pandemic, and dual strikes? Can this really be the new normal? "I just don't sleep," says Gideon Yago, who's written for The Newsroom and The Mosquito Coast. "These last couple of months have been the hardest.

I haven't had a single conversation with anyone in the industry that hasn't expressed fear and frustration. That's really, really bad when you're in the enchantment and entertainment business." Insiders have differing opinions about what to call the gray cloud hanging over Hollywood right now. Some believe it's a temporary slowdown sparked by worry that the essential blue-collar workers in the union IATSE will strike this summer.

Some think it's a much-needed course correction after a streaming war in which studios actually seemed to compete to lose money. Some think-and this is the scariest option-it's a permanent contraction. "Before we went into the strikes, we were already facing a moment where, because of corporate consolidation, mergers and acquisitions, and a lot of uncertainty, a lot of buyers were unclear on what their fiscal and creative mandates were," says Lee Hollin, EVP of television and head of current programming at Lionsgate.