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April 5 (UPI) —<\/span> The Writers Guild of America said in a surprise weekend announcement it has reached a tentative agreement with the major television and movie studios on a new, four-year deal.<\/p>\n “Today the WGA Negotiating Committee unanimously approved a four-year tentative agreement with the [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] for the 2026 Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA),” the union said in a statement<\/a> issued late on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n The WGA’s current labor deal with the AMPTP expires on May 1.<\/p>\n The new agreement must now be ratified by members before taking effect.<\/p>\n “We look forward to building on this progress as we continue working toward agreements that support long-term industry stability,” the producers said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The quick deal represents a big change from the last round of MBA negotiations in 2023 during which WGA went on strike<\/a> for 148 days, forcing television and film production into to a standstill.<\/p>\n In that dispute, the roughly 11,000 writers were demanding<\/a> “economic fairness,” streaming-service residuals and regulation on the use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n The neither writers nor the studios seemed to have an appetite for another protracted conflict this time, however.\n<\/p>\n The tentative agreement “protects our health plan and puts it on a sustainable path, with increased company contributions across many areas and long-needed increases to health contribution caps,” the WGA said. “The new contract also builds on gains from 2023 and helps address free work challenges.”<\/p>\n With the writers now under contract, Hollywood producers are still negotiating deals with actors and directors, whose contracts each expire<\/a> on June 30.<\/p>\n