Hollywood actors reached a tentative agreement with major studios on Wednesday to resolve the second of two strikes that rocked the entertainment industry this year as workers demanded higher pay in the streaming TV era.
The 118-day work stoppage will end officially just after midnight, the SAG-AFTRA union said in a statement after its negotiating committee voted unanimously to support the deal.
Valued at more than $1 billion, the new three-year contract includes increases in minimum salaries and a new "streaming participation" bonus, the union said.
According to Reuters, the deal also provides protections against unauthorized use of images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), an area that had emerged as a major concern from performers who feared being replaced by "digital doubles."
"We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers," the union said.
SAG-AFTRA President and "The Nanny" star Fran Drescher wrote on Instagram: "We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal!"
The group's national board will consider the agreement on Friday, and the union said it would release further details after that meeting.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which negotiated on behalf of Walt Disney, Netflix and other media companies, said Wednesday's agreement represented "a new paradigm" that gave the union its "biggest contract-on-contract gains" in its history.
The organization said it "looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories."
With the strike ending, Hollywood can ramp up to full production for the first time since May.
