'HALLELUJAH!': Actors react to tentative SAG-AFTRA contract

Actors react to SAG-AFTRA strike ending: ‘We worked hard ... didn’t cave ... got the deal we needed’

People carry picket signs in support of actors striking during the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Nov. 8, 2023 6:16 PM PT

It only took 118 days, but the actors’ strike finally appears to be over.

On Wednesday afternoon, the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee approved a tentative deal with the major studios that would end the almost four-month-long work stoppage. “The strike officially ends at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 9,” the union said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke everywhere!,” union president Fran Drescher said on Instagram. “Ty sag aftra members for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal! Ty neg comm, strike captains, staff, Duncan & Ray, our lawyers, the IA team , family and friends. Our sister unions for their unrelenting support! And the amptp for hearing us and meeting this moment! #sagaftrastrong”

To celebrate the end of the historic strike, many actors took to social media to express their joy and relief over the new deal.

“Eternals” actor Kumail Nanjiani wasted no time in sharing his excitement and nodding toward his future self-promotions in an X post Wednesday evening.

“YES!!! Hallelujah. I can tweet a certain trailer that I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT at midnight,” he wrote.

“Yesss! Thank you Negotiating committee!!!! #SAGAFTRA,” Felicia Day of “Supernatural” and “Mystery Science Theater 3000” fame wrote on X.

English journeyman actor Dominic Burgess — who has appeared in the shows “Doctor Who” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and the 2019 film “Ma,” alongside Octavia Spencer — thanked everyone who supported his union for months on end.

“I’m an emotional wreck… thank you to all the wonderful Strike Captains! The negotiating committee! IATSE! Teamsters!” he wrote in an X post. “Everyone who joined us out on the lines! Thank you! From day one of the Writers Strike to the last day of the SAG-AFTRA strike (and down 35lbs).”

“We worked hard,” Lisa Ann Walter of “Abbott Elementary” and “Parent Trap” tweeted. “And didn’t cave when some were trying to force it. And got the deal we needed at the end. #UnionStrong”

“What a tremendous early birthday gift!! #SAGAFTRA,” “Superstore” actor Franchesca Ramsey wrote on X.

Dani Fernandez, who is a union actor and writer, marked the end of her months of striking while advocating for the effectiveness of strikes.

“Union strong. Being both WGA and SAG I have been on strike since May 2nd. Good lord. Thank you to everyone who had our back,” she wrote on X. “Thank you to all my sister unions for joining the lines. Thank you to our strike captains, neg com, and pre guild folks who showed up. Strikes work.”

“This almost doesn’t feel real! I’m thrilled and excited to get back to work!” wrote “Being the Ricardos” actor Jamie Miller. “No details released yet but rumor is that the deal is fantastic and that the fight was worth it.”

“Chicago Med” actor Conor Perkins rejoiced over the seeming end of the strike while also clarifying that there are still a few steps to go before the entire ordeal is over.

“We’re not out of the woods just yet. The deal must be approved by a national board vote before being accepted my the membership at large,” Perkins wrote on Threads. “But today is a good day and we cannot thank our @sagaftra. Negotiating Committee enough for their work. Exhale, relax your shoulders, hug somebody. Solidarity forever.”

Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists walked out July 14, joining striking Writers Guild of America members and launching the industry’s first twin strikes since 1960. Writers spent nearly five months on picket lines before reaching a new contract in late September with the media companies’ bargaining arm, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The tentative SAG-AFTRA contract with the AMPTP — which still must be ratified by the union’s board and members — would boost minimum pay for members, increase residual payments for shows streamed online and bolster contributions to the union’s health and pension plans. It also establishes new rules for the use of artificial intelligence, a major source of concern for actors.

Times staff writers Meg James, Christi Carras and Wendy Lee contributed to this report.