The WGA East has come to terms with ITV Entertainment on a contract for “The Chase,” ending a two-week strike by the show’s writers.
WGA East issued a statement Monday stating that the U.K.-based TV giant had agreed to a WGA contract for the nine writers who work on the show.
“We are in agreement that fair and positive work practices are essential to our industry and that, especially during the ongoing battle of the pandemic, the priority is to keep production going and to ensure that people can do their work and build sustainable careers,” the WGA East said. “We are glad to have come to terms and that the process is completed.”
A rep for ITV could not immediately be reached for comment. ITV had maintained that the WGA East’s contract demands would “economically cripple” the show.
Writers on “The Chase” began a work stoppage on March 24. The fast-paced quiz show aired its first season earlier this year and is expected to be renewed.
The WGA East has tangled with ITV Studios and its various offshoots for the past few years amid the guild’s aggressive push to unionize nonfiction writers working for TV and digital platforms. The WGA East has successfully organized scribes working for Vice, Vox, CBSN, Hearst Magazines, Salon, Slate, HuffPost and others.
“The Chase” production offices are on the West Coast. But the WGA East took the lead in organizing the show as part of its push into unscripted TV and digital production.
Over the past two decades, the WGA East and WGA West have made inroads in representing a wide range of reality and nonfiction TV writers, such as writers for such cash-cow game shows as “Jeopardy,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “The Weakest Link.”