Hollywood strike: Writers Guild of America members to walk out - how it may affect your favourite TV shows

More than 9,000 writers will stage walk out for the first time in 15 years after a huge vote on strike action from Writers Guild of America (WGA)

A Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike will see more than 9,000 members walk out after 98% of its voting members voted in favour of the action. This will be the first time in 15 years that writers have taken strike action.

The WGA confirmed that picketing for the strike will begin on Tuesday afternoon. The WGA said the decision was made after six weeks of negotiations produced a "wholly insufficient" response to "the existential crisis writers are facing".

The strike action comes after writers clashed with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in demand of higher pay and a greater share of the profits from the modern streaming boom. The AMPTP represents major studios, including Disney and Netflix.

Many of the issues the members have raised all come back to the era of streaming. Before streaming writers would be hired for 22-episode runs of TV, and often paid well. They would also receive residual paychecks when shows were rerun. However, the Hollywood business model has been disrupted by streaming.

Writers have raised complaints about being asked to provide weeks or months of free rewrites of scripts. They have also said that streamers have cut way down on the number of episodes ordered per season with many getting just six-to-eight episodes. Making sustainable work harder.

The action has led to many late-night shows cancelling their scheduled programmes; the Deadline Hollywood outlet reported that production on late-night shows including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon won’t go forward.

Late Night host Seth Meyers expressed his support for the strike on the show saying: "I also feel very strongly that what the writers are asking for is not unreasonable. As a proud member of the Guild, I’m very grateful that there is an organisation that looks out for the best interests of writers."

With the likes of Netflix and Disney+ at the heart of the discussion shows such as Stranger Things could face delays.

The last writers’ strike in 2007-2008 lasted 100 days and cost the California economy $2bn (£1.6bn) and led to the cancellation or delays of some popular shows. Some have also credited it with boosting the proliferation of reality TV.