Here’s something interesting for screenwriters.
John August, co-host of the podcast Scriptnotes, has been named co-chair of the Writers Guild of America’s bargaining committee. The other co-chair is Daniel Sánchez Witzel, showrunner of the Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest.”
The WGA is scheduled to begin negotiations next spring for the first time since the five-month writers strike in 2023. The current contract expires on May 1, 2026.
As in 2023, the writers’ lead negotiator will be Ellen Stutzman, who is also the executive director of WGA West. She will be negotiating with Greg Hessinger, the new president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Mr. Augusto and Mr. Sánchezwitzel each served on the 2023 negotiating committee. Previous co-chairs Chris Kaiser and David Goodman will not be involved this time.
The WGA has announced a list of 29 commissioners, including Mike Schull (A Man on the Inside, Parks and Recreation), Sean Ryan (The Night Agent, SWAT), and Tom Fontana (Murder on the Street, The Borgia).
There is significant turnover on the committee. This time, 10 of the 30 committee members from 2023 will participate. One of them is Michelle Mulroney, who served as vice president of WGA West in 2023 and was recently elected president.
At the top of the agenda are WGA pensions and health insurance, which face potential shortfalls and need to be addressed.
2026 Committee Members: John August, Daniel Sanchez-Witzel, Ali Barthwell, Yalin Zhang, Stan Chervin, Larry J. Cohen, Josh Gondelman, Phil Hay, Eric Haywood, Chris Hazard, Merritt. Sa London Hilfers, Christopher Kyle, Molly Nussbaum, Love Raquet, Sean Ryan, Betsy Thomas, Danny Torre, Erika Saleh, Mike Schur, Cat Vasco, Ben Watkins, Cat Wood, Lisa Zwerling. Ex officio members: Michelle Mulroney, Travis Donnelly, Peter Murietta, Tom Fontana, Michael Rausch, Sasha Stewart.
