• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

Decoding the Writers Strike Smoke Signals

Rumors of progress between the guild and the studios may be overstated as the two sides hardly negotiate in the negotiating room and guild leadership has leaned into a scorched-earth, down-to-the-wire strategy.

Are WGA president Meredith Stiehm and guild leadership strategically trying to run up against the contract deadline?
Are WGA president Meredith Stiehm and guild leadership strategically trying to run up against the contract deadline? Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for WGAW
Jonathan Handel
April 3, 2023

What sake pairs best with Kabuki theater? That’s the question I’m asking as the Writers Guild and studios finish a second week of negotiations ahead of their May 1 contract expiration. No, this isn’t a backdoor attempt to inaugurate Puck’s Wine & Spirits vertical—although why not?—but rather to say that if you think the WGA and studio alliance have spent the last ten business days cooperatively working through the tough issues with sleeves rolled up, you definitely need a drink. Or several.