End of the second day of talks with studio CEOs; Progress – Deadline

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Exclusive: This evening concluded the second day of direct negotiations between the Writers Guild and studio executives.

While there is no agreement at the moment, the two parties held important and detailed talks this week, we heard. They are poring over the finer details in hopes of hammering out a new three-year contract within hours or days.

However, with the situation fluid and talks about reaching an agreement, it is unclear at the moment whether the scribes and studios will meet again. It is possible that a new meeting will be held tomorrow or Tuesday, after the Yom Kippur holiday – we will update with more information as we get it. Currently, no date has been set for a new meeting where the two parties will review the details and statements issued by the recent negotiations.

The writers have been on strike for 143 days now.

Once again, as Deadline exclusively reported on Wednesday, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav were in the room with WGA and AMPTP president Carole Lombardini to try to close a deal.

During the meeting at AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks offices, substantive discussions Thursday focused primarily on the proposals presented by the studios on Wednesday and the union’s response. With the issue of hiring mandates in writers’ rooms among the sticking points, the Gang of Four CEO sat across the table from the guild’s bargaining committee led by Ellen Stutzman, David Goodman and Chris Keyser.

Additionally, to move things along in what were generally friendly exchanges, there were sidebars between individual CEOs and WGA presidents throughout the day Thursday, as was the case on September 20.

“These are complex negotiations,” a source close to this latest round of talks about a potential deal said. “If you want to move with determination, make sure you have everything ready. That takes time.”

Noting how hard both sides have been “working” to break the stalemate that has plagued labor relations in Hollywood since the WGA announced a strike on May 2 and the first round of new talks last month went nowhere, another well-placed source said that where the players now “seems to be… “It’s like progress.”

The day began with some recriminations over a CNBC message late last night that asserted a deal was coming today or “no deal tomorrow, strike will likely continue through the end of the year,” cable host David Faber tweeted. A reminder of previous blistering attacks against the union and its members from the executive wings, the explosive scope of the report this morning saw Iger accused of pushing the story – an accusation the Mouse House boss denied.

Managers on both sides also received calls from Gavin Newsom today. The California governor has not taken a formal role in the talks yet, and has continued his policy of “verification,” as one insider described it.

The WGA had no comment when contacted by Deadline about today’s talks.

Today is the 143rd day of the WGA strike and the 70th day of SAG-AFTRA taking to the picket lines. If the scribes reach an agreement with the studios and banners, the 160,000-member Fran Drescher-led actors’ powerful union will still have to reach an agreement of its own before Hollywood ramps up again.

Whenever a deal is reached, writers’ representatives expect about another two weeks before the agreement is ratified by the guild. Since AMPTP will then move to strike a new contract with SAG-AFTRA next, questions remain about how quickly TV writers’ rooms can return, and when producers can submit specs.

Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.