Actors’ strike to end as SAG-AFTRA and producers agree deal

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US actors union SAG-AFTRA has struck a tentative three-year deal worth more than $1bn (£814m) with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that will allow shows to go back into production after months of delays.

The agreement brings to an end the 118-day strike between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, which represents companies ranging from Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney to Netflix and Apple TV+.

Specifics of the deal are being kept under wraps until the SAG-AFTRA national board reviews the new pact, but the union said it offered “unprecedented provisions” while the AMPTP added that it provided the “biggest contract-on-contract gains” in history.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the AMPTP’s chief negotiator, told Reuters that the new agreement would “make a long-term difference for the future of our members in this industry.”

It includes increases in minimum salaries, as well as guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence and a bonus linked to “streaming participation”.

SAG-AFTRA wrote to its members to confirm the news, explaining that the negotiating committee had voted unanimously to approve the “tentative agreement”.

“As of 12:01am PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended and all picket locations are closed. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country.”

SAG-AFTRA added: “Our pension & health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.”

The agreement, which comes a month after The Writers Guild of America (WGA) ended its strike, has seen a flurry of activity as preparations begin to get shows – mainly returning series – back into production within weeks.

Shows ranging from Stranger Things and Emily In Paris to Yellowstone and the NCIS franchise have been delayed, with broadcasters in particular looking to get production started quickly to ensure projects can get through their seasons before the end of the season in May.

AMPTP boss Carol Lombardini and SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, plus their teams, were more recently joined by key execs from Hollywood’s C Suites – Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Disney’s Bob Iger – to get the deal over the line.

The action, coupled with the now-settled WGA writers strike, has caused extensive delays to US studio programming and cost California billions of dollars in lost production expenses.