The three-year contract still must be approved by leadership of the Writers Guild of America (WGA,) as well as union members, before it can take effect. The WGA settlement, while a milestone, will not return Hollywood to business as usual even if it is ratified.

While writing may resume, the SAG-AFTRA actors' union remains on strike. Writers walked off the job on May 2 after negotiations reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers’ rooms, the use of artificial intelligence and residuals that reward writers for popular streaming shows, among other issues. 

Hollywood's dual strikes had shut down production of movies and TV series and sent late-night talk shows into re-runs. Efforts to restart daytime talk shows without writers, such as "The Drew Barrymore Show," collapsed this month, in the face of criticism from striking writers and actors.