TV Comedy Writers Assess Post-Strike Hollywood: ‘Everybody’s Being Way More Cautious’

variety.com:

Julie Seabaugh Industry-wide, comedy writers’ rooms have evolved over recent decades for the better, with increased diversity, less unacceptable behavior and wider geographical and technological opportunities returning solid benefits in terms of ratings and audience engagement.

Taking a shorter-term temperature feels trickier, given the fallout of the 2023 writers and actors strikes and subsequent downturn in production starts. “There’s certainly less Postmates,” admits Sarah Afkami, a comedian and writer of nearly 15 years. “And big picture: you’re more aware of the idea that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” In dissecting both the good and the bad sides of an industry currently seeing production trending downward as much as 20%, comedy writers are looking to the future while recognizing present uncertainties.

Emmy and Peabody winner Tracy Newman (“The Nanny,” “Ellen,” “The Drew Carey Show”) sees more women’s and underrepresented voices in the rooms. “It’s probably much fairer now than ever,” she says.

Has she ever seen discrimination in the workplace? “Being a woman in this, I did experience some of that at the very beginning,” she says. “I was like 46 to 48 when I got my first job on ‘Cheers,’” she notes. “That was pretty unusual.