Streaming has transformed television and led to a surge in content, but it also has squeezed Hollywood writers. Five Writers Guild of America members share their stories.
Layoffs, hints of a recession and an uncertain future for streaming add up to contentious negotiations and the WGA looks for a new deal with Hollywood studios.[also on Netflix], is very minimal,” she said.
When Cohan started her career in network television 11 years ago, writing was a lucrative job. Typically, a series had a set schedule of around 20 episodes and writers worked on them over 40 weeks. Cohan said she was paid $33,878.26 in residuals for writing one episode of “Bridgerton.” While that’s more per episode than what she made on “Awkward,” the shorter eight-episode first season for “Bridgerton” meant fewer writing opportunities — and less money, Cohan said. Moreover, she said, the residuals did not reflect “Bridgerton’s” global popularity.
When Quashie started in the business, selling screenplays on spec, or writing scripts based on a studio’s existing property, would typically involve two steps of guaranteed payment.Today, however, Quashie said that guarantee has been reduced to just one step, depressing his overall compensation.Writers meet today to discuss the issues they expect will be at the center of difficult contract negotiations with the studios this spring.
Fast-forward to 2019. Quashie sold a script to Netflix for a movie adapted from a young-adult book, but he said the streamer would guarantee only one step for less than $100,000. While deals vary, Quashie said that with the one-step deal, he earned about half what he did with guaranteed two-step deals 15 years ago.
“With streaming and a lot of cable outlets now, they’re just stretching out 10 episodes over an entire year,” said Kopp, who is an executive producer and writer on Starz’s “PowerBook IV: Force. “My episodic fee suddenly gets diluted, and I have found myself getting paid scale.”
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