TV comedy writers take stock of Hollywood after the strike

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A global pandemic, exploding production costs and strikes in the industry have changed the look of writers’ rooms forever

Across the industry, comedy writing teams have evolved for the better over the past few decades. Increased diversity, less unacceptable behavior, and greater geographic and technological opportunities have had a significant positive impact on ratings and audience participation.

Given the impact of the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023 and the subsequent decline in production starts, it seems more difficult to make a shorter-term assessment of the situation.

“There are definitely fewer Postmates,” admits Sarah Afkami, a comedian and writer with nearly 15 years of professional experience. “And overall, there’s a greater awareness of the idea that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

By analyzing the good and the bad of an industry currently experiencing a production decline of up to 20%, comedy writers look to the future while being aware of present uncertainties.

Emmy and Peabody Award winner Tracy Newman (“The Nanny,” “Ellen,” “The Drew Carey Show”) sees more women’s voices and underrepresented voices in the rooms. “It’s probably a lot more equitable today than it’s ever been,” she says.

Has she ever experienced discrimination in the workplace? “As a woman in this field, I’ve experienced it from the beginning,” she says. “I was between 46 and 48 when I got my first job at Cheers,” she notes. “It was pretty unusual. Not only was I a woman, but I also met their age quota.”

When it came to Max’s animated film “Birdgirl,” Afkami found himself in a writers’ room full of women.

At all career levels, the ability to work from home has fundamentally changed the entire structure of writers’ rooms.

“The pandemic has forced comedy to be done largely online – writers’ rooms have largely become Zoom rooms,” says “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” writer Noah Gardenswartz, who is currently developing a pilot at BET. “It’s made it a lot easier not having to live in New York or LA. When those mandatory requirements go away, the rest of the country opens up to people in the entertainment industry.”

Mike Lawrence, who considers himself a mid-level working writer and has worked on screenplays, reality shows, talk shows, awards shows and four televised roasts, including “The Roast of Tom Brady,” says the argument against working from home amounts to a false complaint about the lack of social camaraderie.

“The commute, the hundreds of hours of your life you never get back,” are an unpaid part of traditional requirements, Lawrence says. “I think for the most part, people’s happiness and mental health are better when they work from home.”

Having experienced both, he admits that “it’s probably better for newer, younger writers to be in the room on some things to learn. But I’ve worked on shows where we have four-hour days, and they’re great shows because we’re all lucky and grateful that we can have that work-life balance.”

A disturbing reality after the strike, however, is the slowdown in production. “There are just fewer shows right now,” says writer, actor and director Kiran Deol. “The work of these strikes will be good for everyone in the long run, but in the short term, people will be more conservative. People will make safer decisions as the industry recovers. There will be attrition in the short term, but in the long term, that should change again.”

In Deol’s eyes, planning, self-reflection and a healthy dose of optimism are key. “My goal is not to just walk away,” she says of unexpected downtime. “Just get through the next 18 to 24 months, figure out how to survive, and everything should be fine. ‘Survive until 2025!’ is something I’ve heard people say. That’s the goal right now.”