As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA continue the wage increases, the general deals of more creatives are suspended.
According to Warner Bros. JJ Abrams (Lost, Star Wars), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Greg Berlanti (Arrowverse shows) and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) deals have been suspended by Warner Bros. Variety.
The deals of other prominent writers such as Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men) and John Wells (ER) have also been suspended.
In May, just weeks after the WGA strike began, many other companies, such as Amazon, HBO, Warner Bros. TV, NBCUniversal, Disney and CBS Studios, several other overall deals.
Still, the deals haven’t completely ended, meaning the studios and streamers won’t be paying the writers during the strike, though the deals may still be reinstated once the strike is over.
Suspended: As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA continue pay raises, more creatives’ overall deals are suspended
Mindy: JJ Abrams (Lost, Star Wars), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Greg Berlanti (Arrowverse shows), and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) have had their overall deals suspended by Warner Bros., according to Variety
Suspended: In May, just weeks after the WGA strike began, many other companies, such as Amazon, HBO, Warner Bros. TV, NBCUniversal, Disney and CBS Studios, several other overall deals suspended
Technically, the studios could, in fact, end the overall deals, as the writers’ strike has passed the 90-day mark.
Studios and streamers have the option to end any deals after 90 days of work interruption due to ‘force majeure’ clauses.
For writers who have a general agreement with studios and streamers, their company’s overheads are usually paid for by the studio/streamer.
When Paramount Television suspended Justin Simien’s (Dear White People, Haunted Mansion) overall deal, he even started a GoFundMe page to literally keep the lights on in his business.
The suspension of these deals means that employees of Abrams’ Bad Robot, Kaling’s Kaling International, Greg Berlanti Productions and Lawrence’s Doozer Productions will not receive their salaries through Warner Bros. will be paid until the strike is resolved.
Still, the fact that the studios didn’t cancel the deals at all could be a sign of some progress, as studios ended many deals during the 2007-2008 WGA strike.
While the Directors Guild of America (DGA) has struck a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — which represents most of the major studios and streamers — the combination of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes has nearly all productions on the ground. to a stop.
The only exceptions are productions for which interim agreements have been concluded with SAG-AFTRA. Many of these are films not produced by affected companies.
JJ’s deal: Abrams signed a massive $250 million deal with Warner Bros. in September 2019. covering five years
Mindy’s Deal: Kaling signed her overall deal with Warner Bros. in February 2019. Television, which was reportedly a six-year pact worth $8.5 million a year
Greg’s deal: Berlanti just signed a new pact with WBTV in January that would run through 2027, after the original deal was due to expire in 2024
Bill’s deal: Lawrence signed his current pact with WBTV in February 2022, keeping him with the company until 2028, worth just over $100 million
Abrams signed a massive $250 million deal with Warner Bros. in September 2019, which will run for five years.
Kaling signed her overall deal with Warner Bros. in February 2019. Television, which was reportedly a six-year pact worth $8.5 million a year.
Berlanti just signed a new pact with WBTV in January that would run through 2027, after the original deal was set to expire in 2024.
Lawrence signed his current pact with WBTV in February 2022, which would keep him with the company until 2028, worth just over $100 million.