The best picket signs of the Hollywood writers strike
A picketer at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles carries a sign with references to the television shows Grey's Anatomy, Abbott Elementary and Succession. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A picketer at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles carries a sign with references to the television shows Grey's Anatomy, Abbott Elementary and Succession.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty ImagesAs the Writers Guild of America strike continues into its third day, the jokes aren't on late night TV anymore — they're on the picket lines.
More than 11,000 movie and television writers have stopped working after contract negotiations stalled out between their union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade association that represents Hollywood's studios and production companies.
The standoff could last months and shut down Hollywood production. (The last writers strike lasted from November 2007 into February 2008.) Some of the sticking points include questions over staffing levels for new TV programs and income from episodes aired on streaming services.
Since the strike kicked off Tuesday, hundreds of writers have picketed in the Los Angeles area and in New York, outside the studios and offices of Netflix, NBCUniversal, Disney, Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros. and others.
Among the signs were jokes about the artificial intelligence service ChatGPT, the wealth of studio executives and many, many references to the HBO hit Succession. Here are some of our favorites:
On left, a picket sign outside Netflix headquarters in Hollywood. On right, writer K.C. Scott pickets outside Amazon Studios in Culver City, Calif. Mandalit del Barco/NPR hide caption
On left, a picket sign outside Netflix headquarters in Hollywood. On right, writer K.C. Scott pickets outside Amazon Studios in Culver City, Calif.
Mandalit del Barco/NPROne thing this writer’s strike is going to give us is elite sign content. pic.twitter.com/IYv0ijMcBh
— Nazanin Nour (@NazaninNour) May 4, 2023
Writers picket in front of Netflix offices in Hollywood on Tuesday as the WGA strike began. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Writers picket in front of Netflix offices in Hollywood on Tuesday as the WGA strike began.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImagesThese #writersstrike picket signs are so good.
— 𝕯𝖎𝖑𝖉𝖔 𝕭𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖘 (@EmmaTolkin) May 2, 2023
“‘I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GOING GO TAKE THIS ANYMORE’ WAS NOT WRITTEN BY A PRODUCER!” pic.twitter.com/UV4rkQGmfy
Outside Netflix headquarters in Hollywood on the first day of the writer's strike Mandalit del Barco/NPR News hide caption
Outside Netflix headquarters in Hollywood on the first day of the writer's strike
Mandalit del Barco/NPR NewsHave I mentioned how my wife’s WGA strike signs are objectively excellent? Because they are. They’re excellent. pic.twitter.com/I6mJVzB5kw
— Mason Lieberman (@MasonLieberman) May 4, 2023
Writer Jono Matt holds a sign referring to the short-lived streaming service Quibi at the WGA picket line outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Chris Pizzello/AP hide caption
Writer Jono Matt holds a sign referring to the short-lived streaming service Quibi at the WGA picket line outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.
Chris Pizzello/AP"LET'S REPLACE STUDIO EXECS WITH A.I." ✊🏽 @chescaleigh #WritersStrike #WritersGuildofAmerica pic.twitter.com/92lkceffFe
— Jenny Yang is in LA+streaming 9/13! (@jennyyangtv) May 3, 2023
A WGA protest outside the Netflix headquarters in New York City. Stefan Jeremiah/AP hide caption
A WGA protest outside the Netflix headquarters in New York City.
Stefan Jeremiah/APSeveral reporters today were walking around asking writers how long we’d *actually* be willing to strike. I don’t know dude, how long do you think it’ll take 11,000 unemployed writers to run out of sign ideas? #wgastrong #writersstrike pic.twitter.com/C0cq81jTcF
— mah ree nah (@marinarachael) May 3, 2023