Star Trek writer breaks down why there is a strike on-going

Star Trek writer Bill Wolkoff breaks down the current writer’s strike.

Star Trek fans are by now aware of the recent writer’s strike that has brought all sorts of projects, television, film, and otherwise, to a screeching halt. The entire crop of unionized writers have been on strike for a few weeks now and there appears to be no end in sight. Numerous projects and contracts with long-standing creative types have already been canceled by groups like Warner Bros. and Disney, and others may follow suit.

Bill Wolkoff, who wrote four episodes for Star Trek: Strange New World’s first season, recently spoke to Boston’s WBUR about the strike. In the interview, he cited the unsteady work that comes with being a Hollywood writer, calling it a “gig economy” (transcript via Daily Star Trek).

Wolkoff goes on to say;

"…We work maybe ten to twenty weeks a year and have to string together gigs and are constantly scrambling in order to find a job."

Star Trek writer Bill Wolkoff highlights the issues writers are dealing with

One of the major factors that are forcing the writer’s strike is that residuals that writers used to get for shows going into syndication are gone. Now, with streaming taking over, writers are making much much less, despite budgets tending to be a lot higher.

With the rise of AI sites like ChatGPT, many writers feel like they’re going to be squeezed out of the picture for an AI service that plagiarizes material. The Writer’s Guild of America believes they are being minimized, and the fear is that the industry is becoming unsustainable for writers.

The studios have, at the moment, seemingly stopped negotiations, believing they’ve given the writers a fair deal. The writers clearly don’t agree, and who can blame them?

The strike will continue until a new deal can be struck.