No more 'peak TV'? Why TV's golden age isn't one for its writers.
| Los Angeles
The last time Speed Weed found himself jobless, it was 2011, his wife had just given birth to triplets, and he couldn't find work for almost a year.
But Mr. Weed wasn鈥檛 worried. A television writer and producer, he relied on residuals 鈥� payments made to creators and performers for subsequent screenings of their work 鈥� from two years of writing and producing for the police procedural 鈥淟aw and Order: Special Victims Unit.鈥�
The show reran on NBC. So the checks kept coming 鈥� long enough for him to pick up work again, first for a USA Network miniseries in 2012 and then for the CW鈥檚 superhero series 鈥淎rrow鈥� in 2015.
鈥淚f that happened today, I wouldn鈥檛 make it,鈥� says Weed, now the show鈥檚 co-executive producer.
That鈥檚 because times have changed in television, he says. Over the past five years, a broader range of content platforms has given viewers free reign over what to watch and when to watch it. Studios are producing more and better programming than ever: The number of 聽鈥� from about 200 to more than 400 鈥� between 2009 and 2015. Netflix alone is reportedly producing in 2017. Pundits call the era 鈥�.鈥�
From the questions "Westworld" raises about what it means to be human, to the '80s sci-fi nostalgia of "Stranger Things," to the heart-wringing twists of "This Is Us," TV has never been more fun to watch. But ironically, writers like Weed say, TV's new golden age has been anything but for the people creating it. Screenwriters can take more creative risks than when it was a six-channel, three-camera world, but the financial rewards aren't making their way to the writers rooms.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great time to be in television,鈥� says Ken Kristensen, who is currently working on a Marvel show for Netflix. 鈥淲e just have to make sure that it鈥檚 a sustainable environment for writers.鈥�
Most writers are celebrating this new creative freedom. But, they say, it comes at a price.
Higher-quality shows mean shorter series that take longer to write than, say, an episode of a traditional sitcom. For writers 鈥� most of whom are compensated per episode 鈥� that means a significant pay cut for work compared with a 22- to 24-episode program. Online subscription video-on-demand platforms like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu have also meant less reliance on the model of residual compensation that kept Weed afloat during his year of unemployment.
Which is why the first Hollywood writers鈥� strike in a decade is looking more likely. On Monday, negotiations resumed between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood鈥檚 studio alliance. At issue: a new film and TV contract that the guild says would better reflect industry changes. If negotiations fail, the guild will seek permission from its members to hold a strike 鈥� which could cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars 鈥� starting May 2. On Thursday, at least 100 workers walked out of a dozen reality show companies in an effort to push negotiations forward.
The negotiations speak to a cultural transformation that could, over time, shake up the television business, says Miranda Banks, an associate professor of film and media at Boston鈥檚 Emerson College and author of, 鈥淭he Writers: A History of American Screenwriters and Their Guild.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a disconnect that we鈥檙e going to have to figure out in the coming years between where audiences are, where compensation comes from, and where the studios make money,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he entire industry is under enormous upheaval.鈥�
'There are ... 50 shows I'd love to write for'
On Monday night, a captive audience watched the pilot of the new Starz series 鈥淎merican Gods鈥� at a screening held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The show, based on the 2001 Neil Gaiman novel, follows an ex-convict and a disguised Norse deity (played by British actors Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane) as they traverse America in a bid to convince the old gods of mythology to wage war against the new gods of media and technology.
The show鈥檚 themes center on culture, worship, faith, , as aging divinities try to survive in a consumerist new world.
Its style and approach, meanwhile, are indicative of TV鈥檚 growing reputation as the realm of the risky. In one memorable scene, the goddess Bilquis,聽played by Yetide Badaki, dispatches an unwary victim in a gasp-inducing manner. In another, a facehugger robot transforms into a virtual reality mask that allows Mr. Whittle鈥檚 character, Shadow Moon, to converse with one of the gods of technology in an improbable, fantastic limousine.
鈥淭here are no creative no-go zones anymore,鈥� says Weed, the CW producer. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e good at your storytelling, you can do anything you want. There are probably 50 shows I would love to write for right now.鈥�
Innovation, however, isn鈥檛 the only trend 鈥淎merican Gods鈥� adapts. The show鈥檚 first season is eight episodes long 鈥� a new normal among scripted series as networks aim to produce a wider variety of programs to cater to more niche audiences.
Streaming and video on demand platforms have also allowed shows to rely less on episode counts for syndication. For decades, getting a show to 80 to 100 episodes was crucial to increase profits for a series 鈥� more episodes meant a greater chance of airing as a daily staple on cable networks and local TV stations.
鈥淪tudios can now begin monetizing shows almost immediately,鈥� . 鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 not uncommon for a new show to be 鈥榮yndicated鈥� to Netflix within weeks of wrapping its freshman year.鈥�
For writers, most of whom rely on a per-episode fee to bolster their base salary, the new model has meant major pay cuts, the WGA says. The guild estimates that between 2013 and 2016, compensation among writer-producers at all levels .
That鈥檚 largely because the fee per episode no longer runs parallel to the time spent creating a show, says Jason Mittell, a professor of film and media culture at Middlebury College in Vermont.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e spending three months planning out the season, parsing things out, slowly developing the story in a drawn-out process,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat leads to a really great show. But it ends up they don鈥檛 get paid as much overall because they鈥檙e working on fewer episodes.鈥�
All this comes at a time when the entertainment industry, and television in particular, is more profitable than ever 鈥� the six media companies employing most of the guild鈥檚 members made in operating profits in 2016, the WGA reports.
鈥淲e need to rectify this unacceptable situation where writer incomes are declining and the shows they are creating are making companies rich,鈥� says Neal Sacharow, the guild鈥檚 communications director.
How likely is a strike?
Just hours before fans settled in to watch 鈥淎merican Gods,鈥� negotiators for the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers sat down to discuss the terms of a new contract. Ahead of the talks, the guild by its 12,000 members. A vote to authorize would give the guild permission to use a strike as leverage to cut a deal by May 1.
Strike or not, however, industry experts say it鈥檚 a crucial moment in television and entertainment 鈥� one worth watching, so to speak. The last strike, which started in 2007, lasted for 100 days and cost the industry an estimated $2 billion, according to the Milken Institute.
Historically, strikes have taken place at times when shifts in technology have led to changes in audience behavior, which in turn lead to calls for restructuring compensation models, says Professor Banks at Emerson. This time is no different.
鈥淓verybody has to reimagine where the money comes from within this industry,鈥� she says. 鈥淓veryone is trying to see where things are now, but also predict the future. And that's where negotiations get tricky.鈥�
For writers, it鈥檚 about getting what they say is their fair share of the pie.
鈥淪tability has never been part of this game, and it鈥檚 the life of being an artist. You鈥檙e hustling all the time,鈥� says Mr. Kristensen. But compensation needs to be equivalent to the work, he says, and a writer needs to be able to make enough to get through the inevitable lean years.
鈥淎 writer can always write, but you can鈥檛 always support yourself, have a mortgage, support your children,鈥� says Christine Boylan, who has written and produced for shows including 鈥淥nce Upon A Time鈥� and 鈥淐astle,鈥� both on ABC. 鈥淚f we make a deal so that everyone finds profit, that would be great.鈥�
Financial concerns aside, writers tend to view the current era with excited optimism.
鈥淲riters have felt for a long time from agents that you can鈥檛 do something because nobody's ever done it before. Now there鈥檚 a sense that people want to see things that have never been done before,鈥� Weed says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�
