‘It’s a very tough time in Hollywood’: inside the shrinking world of the TV writers’ room

‘Because streamers have shorter seasons, writers’ rooms last a shorter amount of time.’ Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

When a powerful earthquake struck near Los Angeles last month, it was a neat metaphor for a Hollywood film industry shaken in recent years by a streaming revolution, Covid pandemic, racial reckoning and crippling strikes. And nowhere are the aftershocks felt more keenly than in the writers’ room.

These are collaborative spaces where writers come together to brainstorm ideas, debate plot twists, bounce jokes off each other and punch up scripts so they are ready for production. The formula has produced TV greats from The Dick Van Dyke Show to Saturday Night Live, from The Simpsons to The Sopranos.