According to the Writers Guild of America (WGA), thousands of Hollywood television and movie writers are set to strike due to failed negotiations with studios and streamers over pay and other conditions. Late-night shows may immediately come to a halt, and television series and movies scheduled for release may face significant delays.

The last time Hollywood writers went on strike, it lasted for 100 days and cost the Los Angeles entertainment industry around $2 billion. This time, writers are demanding higher pay and a greater share of profits from the boom in streaming, while studios claim they must cut costs due to economic pressures.

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One of the key issues on the table is the formula that calculates how writers are paid for streaming shows. For decades, writers have received residuals from each reuse of their material, such as television reruns or DVD sales. However, with streaming, writers only get a fixed annual payout, even if their work generates a smash hit like “Bridgerton” or “Stranger Things,” streamed by millions of viewers worldwide.

Writers also say salaries have flatlined or declined after inflation, while employers reap profits and executives’ paychecks fatten.The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said it had offered a “comprehensive package proposal” including higher pay for writers but was unwilling to improve that offer further because of other proposals still on the table that the Guild continues to insist upon.

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Writers accused studios of seeking to create a “gig economy,” in which writing would be “an entirely freelance profession.” The WGA also wants to address the future impact of artificial intelligence on writing. Several other Hollywood unions have voiced solidarity with writers, including the actors’ SAG-AFTRA, and the directors’ DGA, both of which will hold their own talks with studios this summer.