Writers are now receiving streaming bonuses from WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes deal
TV show writers for streaming giants Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Paramount+ have received bonuses based on the terms negotiated in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA contract strikes, won after months of striking throughout 2023.
Production teams for Bridgerton series three, Griselda and Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix, Fallout on Amazon Prime Video, and Ted on Peacock have all qualified for and received bonuses based on their performances, according to a report in The Ankler.
Writers would receive a 50 per cent bonus alongside their baseline pay, equating out at roughly $9,031 extra per 30-minute episode, or $16,415 per hour-long episode.
Additionally, SAG-AFTRA writers have received similar terms for their projects ranging across Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Paramount+.
Details of the new agreements across the industry are scant, but films above a $30 million budget are also receiving the same percentage bonuses. Therefore, as long as, like TV, the projects are consumed by over 20 per cent of each respective streamer’s American audience base. The specific film productions which have benefitted from this so far have not been revealed.
As much as some fruits from the labours of the strikes 18 months ago herald relief, it also comes at a fraught moment for Hollywood, which finds itself in economic freefall having never managed to recover from the lasting plights of the pandemic five years ago.
The 2025 Writers Guild Awards took place in February, where screenplays for the likes of Anora and Shōgun won major prizes.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.