The proliferation of “mini-rooms” has become a major obstacle to resolving the Writers Guild of America’s work stoppage issue in 2023, with the new three-year contract including minimum minimums to end the Hollywood writers’ strike. included limited staffing requirements.
But judging by the Writers Guild of Canada’s latest Equity, Diversity and Inclusion report, it looks like Canada’s television industry hasn’t gotten the memo on new minimum staffing levels for writers’ rooms yet. The 2024 edition notes the first ever decline in the number of television episodes ordered by the Canadian-based linear TV and streaming platform, a service for WGC members.
And that’s partly because mini-rooms north of the border continue to be used by small teams of writers to produce full-length TV series. “This statistic, along with a steady decline in the number of WGC members involved in Canadian television series, is the result of the contraction of Canada’s domestic audiovisual sector and the adoption of harmful industry practices such as ‘mini-rooms,'” the WGC said. There is. stated in the report.
Recent Canadian TV series include Global TV’s mystery drama Small Town Murder, starring Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk, which was picked up by Fox for the US market, and the Indigenous drama, which aired on Canada’s Crave. Examples include “Little Bird.” Stateside PBS.
During the now-defunct Peak TV boom, a weak Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar, generous tax credits and a growing demand for original content from U.S. streaming platforms led to a boom in Toronto, Vancouver and other domestic hubs. TV production took place at a record pace.
But content production in Canada is slowing as domestic advertising dollars shift from local terrestrial TV stations to streaming and other digital platforms, and local TV stations cut back on advertising spending.
And, like Hollywood, Canadian broadcasters and streamers are increasingly taking direct-to-series orders for homegrown television shows, as opposed to the traditional pilot development process with large writers’ rooms. The latest 2024 WGC report covers 76 domestic series produced in 2023 (53 live-action, 23 anime), in addition to another 372 series covered from 2019 to 2022. It becomes.
“Fewer writers participated in the series featured in this year’s report than ever before. Compared to 2016, the number of WGC members working in Canadian television decreased by 11 per cent,” the Writers Guild of Canada said. Reported.
The WGC argued that the reduced opportunities for its members will impact their ability to enter and remain in the Canadian television industry. This is especially true as diverse Canadian writers from underrepresented communities aspire to move beyond entry-level writers’ room assignments like story editors and become showrunners.
To do this, new screenwriters need to spend time on TV sets, working with TV network executives on set and in post-production, and learning about pre-production operations. “While job opportunities are increasing for diverse writers, top positions remain elusive,” the WGC report warns.
