At midnight, it was announced by the official Twitter account of SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, that they’ve finally reached a tentative deal worth “over one billion dollars” with the AMPTP (the major Hollywood studios/streamers). Ending the actors’ strike that had been ongoing for 118 days. This deal comes when further negotiations occurred after the AMPTP gave their “last and final offer,” although, it wasn’t.

Here is the union’s official statement that was posted on a thread on Twitter:

We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended, and all picket locations are closed.

In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension and Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much-needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.

The new tentative deal means that pre-production for movies/shows shooting in 2024 can resume alongside productions that had paused earlier in the year. Membership will still have a chance to vote to ratify the deal like what previously happened with the WGA (writers’ union) deal with the studios.

However, how quickly things get back to filming isn’t entirely known as it could be weeks or months depending on the project. Yet, this is great news for the industry and both unions should be proud that they’ve got historical deals for their membership by sticking to their guns.

SOURCE: SAG-AFTRA