By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Good news for Sesame Workshop, which staved off a potential strike by writers and achieved a tentative agreement with their union.
There was a very real chance writers for Sesame Workshop could have hit the picket line as their contract ended on April 19. Instead, the company has reached a tentative agreement, and writers with the Writers Guild of America are now reviewing a proposed, five-year collective bargaining agreement.
The proposed deal guarantees minimum rates for work on both animated and ‘new media’, the latter referring to digital content. Like the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, the WGA was concerned about the possibility of Sesame Workshop adopting generative AI, and the new agreement would provide protections for writers. As well, the company proposed terms for paid parental leave, and a boost to residuals for digital works.
Sesame Workshop owns the hit show Sesame Street, as well as the animated series “Bea’s Block,” Esme and Roy and Mecha Builders. Failure to reach an agreement could have seen the writers walking a picket line at the non-profit organization’s New York offices, so the company said it is both happy and relieved to reach an amicable agreement.
“We value our writers and their significant contributions to the creative process, which are integral to our ability to deliver on our nonprofit mission,” said a Sesame Workshop spokesperson. “This agreement is a testament to our dedication to our creative talent, and we appreciate the WGA’s collaboration in working with us to establish this new industry benchmark.”
The union was equally happy with the result, issuing a statement that would seem to indicate there will be broad acceptance of the proposed agreement.
“We are so proud to work for an organization that values its writers, and we believe this new contract will positively impact writers throughout the children’s media landscape,” said the WGA’s Sesame Workshop Negotiating Committee. “S” truly is for Solidarity. We are glad to have a contract in place that allows Sesame to do what it does best—lead.”
There are 35 writers represented by the union at Sesame Workshop, which produces the hugely popular show Sesame Street, which is one of television’s landmark series, revolutionizing children’s programming since it first aired in 1969.
The series aired on PBS for nearly 50 years, until HBO struck a deal with Sesame Workshop. That agreement called for HBO to fund the production of new episodes that premiered on HBO but eventually were made available on free TV via PBS. At present, Sesame Workshop has a deal to produce new episodes of Sesame Street for HBO’s streamer sibling Max.
According to the industry publication Variety, the show’s future is up in the air at the moment, with no signed deal for hosting it after the current agreement expires. However, Sesame Street maintains its popularity with children and parents, making it very unlikely it would not find a streaming and linear TV partners.
The other Sesame Workshop shows, those being Bea’s Block, Esme and Roy and Mecha Builders are also aired on Max.
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