Disney Entertainment TV to Reinstate Suspended Overall Deals After WGA Strike Ends | Exclusive
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Disney Entertainment TV is set to reinstate overall deals for creatives that were suspended during the WGA strike as early as Thursday, TheWrap has learned.
In mid-September, the company paused overall and first look deals across its subsidiaries, with Billy Porter, Yara Shahidi, Gina Rodriguez, “This Is Us” alum Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, “Rebel” executive producer Marc Webb, “The Bear” EP Hiro Murai and FX Productions’ Stacey Sher among those impacted.
While Disney Entertainment TV had paused the deals, the studio planned to continue paying for the deals in order to provide salaries for assistants through the end of 2023, as well as cover salaries for development executives through the first week of October 2023, an individual with knowledge of the decision told TheWrap at the time.
Disney’s reinstated deals follow the news first reported by THR and confirmed by TheWrap that Warner Bros. TV is also set to reinstate its suspended writer-producer deals. Individuals previously suspended at Warner Bros. TV included producers Greg Berlanti, J.J. Abrams, Bill Lawrence, Mindy Kaling, John Wells and Chuck Lorre.
Further reinstatements of overall deals are expected to follow, according to several individuals familiar with decision-making, including at NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group, which suspended deals with “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels and Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions; CBS Studios, which suspended deals with Dr. Phil McGraw; “Kingdom Revolution” and “Flamin’ Hot” producer DeVon Franklin, as well as “Dynasty” and ”Nancy Drew” executive producer Lis Rowinski; and Paramount Television Studios, which suspended a deal with “Dear White People” creator Justin Simien’s Culture Machine.
Suspensions of overall deals with writers first began at the onset on the WGA strike in May, and didn’t yet expand to producers as shows in production were able to continue on in their roles amid the strike while writers halted their work per strike guidelines. However, the suspensions subsequently expanded to impact producers when SAG-AFTRA joined striking writers on the picket line in mid-July.
After 148 days on strike, the WGA reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Guild members will hold a ratification vote from Oct. 2 to Oct. 9.
While writing can ramp up due to the end of the WGA strike, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike still poses a substantial hurdle for studios looking to resume production. SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP are set to resume negotiations on Monday.
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