A long-simmering dispute between the Writers Guild of America East and West Coast branches (the Guilds) and the talent agencies that represent writers (among other talent) in the television and motion picture industries became much more public in recent months and boiled over with the filing of a lawsuit by the Guilds and several individual writers against the four largest talent agencies (the Agencies). Writers Guild of America West v. WME Entertainment, No. 19SMCV00725, Superior Court, Los Angeles County. At issue are the packaging fees charged by the Agencies in connection with almost 90% of television series as well as some independent feature films not financed or produced by a major studio.

The Guilds filed their complaint in April and an amended complaint in late May (the Complaint). It alleges that agency packaging fees, which over decades have become entrenched in the business model of agencies, hurt writers by giving agents incentives to place their interests above those of their clients, whose incomes have suffered. More than 7,000 writers—about 80% of those with agency representation—are said to have fired their agents at the direction of the Guilds to underscore their point. Meanwhile, the Agencies, whose representatives have called the suit “meritless” and a “publicity stunt,” assert that packaging fees paid to them have no negative effect on writers’ livelihoods and, to the contrary, are beneficial.