The Writers Guild of America shared a new employment analysis confirming what you already know: there’s no work out there.
The guild shared that based on its data, the 2023-’24 TV season had 1,319 fewer writer jobs than the prior season, impacting writers at all levels of seniority. That’s the result of 37 percent fewer episodic series in the ’23-’24 season compared to ’22-’23, or just 223 shows compared to 362 the year before. The declines are also well below pre-pandemic levels, when roughly 345 covered WGA series were on air.
The WGA also said that screenwriting was down too: for the first three quarters of 2024, the number of screenwriters working was down 15 percent compared to 2022, and earnings were down 6 percent compared to 2022 (they were up from 2023).
“Writing careers have always been difficult to access and sustain, but the contraction has made it especially challenging,” the WGA West leadership wrote in a letter to members and obtained by IndieWire. “We are all subject to the decisions of the companies that control this industry, who have pulled back spending on content based on the demands of Wall Street. Compounding that, the current administration seems intent on causing economic chaos and undermining our democracy.”
The numbers in this study cover writers rooms and jobs from both before and after the Writers Strike of 2023. Full employment numbers for the calendar year of 2024 will be available in the WGA’s annual report this summer. Though still months away from being done, the WGA has currently tracked 380 staff writer, story editor, and executive story editor positions for the new season, which is for now still below ’23-24 for that lower level of writing job.
The WGA says screenwriters for films are feeling the pressure of contraction as well, but the number of WGA-covered films released annually has stayed consistent. 197 different films covered by the guild were released in 2024.
Writers fought for higher wages, protections against artificial intelligence replacing their work, and higher streaming residuals, among other gains, during the strike in 2023. They also obtained bonuses for shows that reach the highest tiers of viewership on streamers, but it’s unclear how many shows or writers have seen the payouts from that new contract. A report from March however suggested that at least five series, “Griselda,” “Ted,” “Bridgerton: Season 3,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and “Fallout,” all received performance-metric bonuses.
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