WGA strike 2023: Fans of ‘Succession,’ ‘Yellowjackets’ show their support

Film and TV screenwriters in the US are on strike, and many fans are taking to social media to show their support.

On Monday May 1st the Writers Guild of America (WGA)(opens in a new tab), the organization that represents screenwriters in the US, voted to call an industry strike that will go into effect just after midnight on Tuesday. The strike came after six weeks of failed contract negotiations with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP)(opens in a new tab)the industry bargaining body that represents studios in union negotiations.

For years, writers were paid by remnants of their programs that were resold or syndicated on television, but streaming services pay fixed remnants that aren’t tied to a program’s viewership, meaning writers see far less money from their work overall. The WGA calls for higher fixed residual income for streaming and wants to establish viewer-based streaming residuals. In addition, the WGA wants to eliminate another side effect of the streaming era: “mini rooms,” or author rooms with fewer authors working shorter hours. The Writers’ Association is also asking for regulations the use of generative AI in authors’ rooms.(opens in a new tab) (The WGA has published a full list of his proposals(opens in a new tab) and the counters of the AMPTP.)

As such, the 11,500 members of the WGA have since halted work on current shows and will not enter into negotiations on any further projects until a new deal is reached. The last WGA strike lasted 100 days from November 2007 to February 2008 and impacted many fan-favorite shows.

In the 15 years since the 2007 strike, writers have become more visible on social media. Now, avid fans can stay connected to their favorite television shows by following the writers on apps like Twitter, making the WGA’s message uniquely accessible to fans. In recent years, entertainment news aggregators — like Pop Base, Discussing Film, and Film Updates — have exploded in popularity, delivering relevant news directly to Stan Twitter.

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Leijah “El” Alexander, a 20-year-old Florida healthcare worker, is employed at Yellow jackets fan base on Twitter. “I follow all the writers and a lot of the production crew. The writers interact a lot with the fans,” she tells Mashable. Alexander found out about the writers’ strike via a film updates tweet Yellow jackets ceased production of season 3 from series co-creator Ashley Lyle. in one Tweet Lyle wrote(opens in a new tab)“Well, we had exactly one day back in the Yellow jackets S3 author room. It was amazing, creatively invigorating and so much fun and I really look forward to being back once the WGA gets a fair deal.”

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“Pretty much everyone [in the Yellowjackets fandom] unanimously agrees that the writers need to be paid more, not just for the sake of the series, but because everyone should be able to afford life,” Alexander tells Mashable. “It’s ridiculous that someone can work in Hollywood and still not afford to do it live.”

But not all fan reactions to the strike are so harmonious. If The Los Angeles Times(opens in a new tab) reported that shows how Abbott Elementary School And stranger things could be affected, some fans began to complain about possible delays. In response to anti-strike sentiment, a 21-year-old student and stranger things Stan in Florida, who goes by the alias Ariana on Twitter, crafted a tweet and said(opens in a new tab)“It looks like the writers’ strike could delay Stranger Things, and I wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that it’s far more important that the writers get the right compensation for their hard work, that they perform in the series release date.” Her tweet received over 15,100 likes and 2,100 retweets.

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“I saw people outside stranger things Fan base complaining about the possibility that their consolation shows could be delayed or have setbacks. And it got me frustrated because of this [shows] are fiction, and it’s more important that real people are compensated for the work they’ve done,” she explains to Mashable.

Jamie Watson, a 25-year-old tenured elementary school teacher in suburban Chicago, also saw the news Abbott Elementary School And stranger things, two of her favorite shows. “I don’t know too much about the strike, but when it comes down to multi-million dollar companies and workers, I support the workers. I support the distribution of wealth, decent wages, fair treatment in the workplace and free health care,” says Watson Maschbar.

Photos from the picket have also drawn attention to the strike on social media. Anna Alumbaugh’s chronicle has been flooded with clever characters. One(opens in a new tab) That got her — and apparently all of Twitter’s — attention, reading, “Pay your writers or we’ll spoil you.” successor.” “Honestly, I wouldn’t blame them for building succession, and they have every right to burn it down,” said the 20-year-old journalism student successor says Stan to Mashable.

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Like Watson, Alumbaugh supports the strike. “It’s crazy that this had to happen again. People haven’t learned that they should pay their writers what they’re due because shows wouldn’t be what they are without the brilliant minds behind them,” Alumbaugh explains. “To me, it’s just crazy that they can barely make a living doing something that has such a huge impact on entertainment.”

I’m just someone who takes screenshots and posts them. I’m just showing how fantastic the authors’ work is.

While the show won’t be affected by the strike, Alumbaugh isn’t the only one successor fan Representation on behalf of the WGA. Anna Golez quoted the WGA West strike announcement as saying: “successor and this report would be nothing without the incredible writers of the series. Support the strike!” to her 276,000+ followers. The 33-year-old social media executive hosts the popular No context succession account.(opens in a new tab) from her home in the Philippines, and her tweet included a screenshot of Shiv Roy on the phone saying, “I’m ready. Let’s get started.”

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“People ask me what’s up successor Posts so viral and I always say it’s the dialogues, the language, the writing that’s so specific,” Golez tells Mashable. “I’m just someone who takes screenshots and posts them. I’m just showing how fantastic the authors’ work is. Writing is work, and workers must be compensated with a living wage.”