The Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative four-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, becoming the first of Hollywood's three major above-the-line unions to secure a new contract in the current bargaining cycle.

The agreement, announced on Saturday, covers health plan and pension increases, SVOD residual bumps, and — most notably — protections around the licensing of writers' scripts for AI training. According to reporting from The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, studios including Netflix, Universal, and Warner Bros. agreed to compensate writers if their work is used to train generative AI systems.

The deal spans four years, one year longer than the WGA's typical three-year cycle. Studios pushed for the extended term to bring labor stability following the costly 2023 double strike; the WGA accepted in part due to a pressing need to shore up its health fund, which had accumulated deficits of approximately $122 million in 2023 and 2024 combined.

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by guild membership. Full terms will not be released until after that vote.

The outcome adds pressure to SAG-AFTRA negotiations, currently paused until at least June ahead of the actors' union's June 30 contract expiration. The Directors Guild of America is not scheduled to bargain until May.

For the broader AI industry, the WGA deal represents one of the first major labor agreements explicitly addressing compensation when creative works are used in AI training pipelines — a model other industries may look to replicate.