July 14, 2023, marked the start of one of Hollywood’s longest labor outages, where, for the first time in over six decades, the unions that represent actors and screenwriters went on strike to demand better protection on their pay, working conditions, and residuals. On Nov. 8, the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) approved the tentative agreement for the 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), officially ending the strike.

The tentative agreement was accepted and approved by a majority of 86% votes by the board, making it the biggest deal in industry history. 

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said, “Now that we have forged the biggest deal in industry history which broke pattern, established new revenue streams and passed a historic $1 billion plus dollar deal with the most progressive AI protections ever written, I feel pretty confident in saying this is a paradigm shift of seismic proportions!” 

The deal promises protection against the use of artificial intelligence for living or deceased actors, which is something that was previously problematic in projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where they artificially recreated dead actors to reprise their roles.  

The deal also enforces that background actors hired on union terms on the West Coast must equal the number in New York, leading to an increase in hired background actors. Background actors will also now be receiving an 11% increase in pay.

So, what does this all mean? The production of some of your favorite movies and T.V. shows can finally resume. Some other productions that are resuming include “Dune: Part Two,” “Deadpool 3,” “Wicked,” “Beetlejuice 2,” “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” “The White Lotus,” and many more.

Hills senior Lily Plechner said, “I can’t wait to finally see the new season of ‘Stranger Things.’”