These days, we’re all supposed to be guaranteed a limitless buffet of TV content. But not if the actors go on strike. Let’s take a Deep Dive.

🎭 Since July, the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the union representing actors in the US, has been on strike, severely curtailing TV and film production. Amplifying its effects is the adjacent strike, from the Writers Guild of America, which has been going on since May.

🎥 SAG-AFTRA’s main antagonist is the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios. Central to the union’s concerns is the financial impact of streaming, AI and digital recreation on its members.

🆘 A lot of productions have been affected—causing the streaming content pipeline to slow to a trickle.

$3 billion The strike has had an economic impact of at least $3 billion so far.

160,000 SAG-AFTRA represents about 160,000 striking performers.

1 The AMPTP has suggested that actors be paid a single day’s pay for their likenesses to be captured, after which AI versions of them can be used for free, forever.

340 The strike is one of the main reasons for the closure of Lucasfilm’s Singapore outpost, with the loss of 340 jobs.

By what proportion did SAG-AFTRA’s members vote to strike?

A. 58%
B. 78%
C. 98%

Scroll to the bottom of the email for the answer.

This is far from the first time Hollywood talent has gone on strike. Two of the more notable examples were the 2007-08 writers’ strike about DVD and new media residuals, and the 1980 actors’ strike about video and pay TV residuals. In other words, both were arguments about the shares of the spoils of technological change, much like today.

⚖️ The Negotiators. The economic impact of the strike has been so severe that various politicians have stepped in with offers to mediate.

☢️💣 The Long Kiss Goodnight. The strike kicked off in dramatic fashion, with the cast of Oppenheimer walking out of the film’s premiere.

🐉 The Last Dance. Among the productions to carry on was Games of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which is filmed in the UK. Thanks to rules there that ban solidarity strikes, even SAG-AFTRA members have had to continue filming, leading to a backlash among some fans.

🤖 Ex Machina. Replacing actors with AI could lead us to all sorts of dark places.

🪧 Kings of Comedy. One thing about a strike involving both writers and actors—it’s led to some great protest placards.

This is why streaming is at the very heart of the dispute.

If it carries on, the strike is going to end up affecting the production of an ever-rising number of shows.

While it’s a very serious business, there are also various mildly absurd dimensions to the strike. None of them, however, surpasses Treegate.

The answer to the quiz is C (98%).