Bob Odenkirk showed his support for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) who are striking for better pay and conditions. The star joined them on the picket line.
The Emmy-nominated actor and comedian is known for his performance as the shady lawyer Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Odenkirk shared a picture of himself on Twitter, where he can be seen standing with the WGA writers. The actor is showing his support for them. See the tweet below –
For the unaware, The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is a labor union that represents 11,500 writers who work in the TV and film industry.
They are currently on strike since May 2, 2023, after failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the major studios and networks in the United States.
The writers are demanding better pay and conditions, especially for streaming media, where they say they are paid less than writers for broadcast TV.
They also want more writers and longer contracts for their shows, instead of the “mini rooms” that some streaming platforms have created, which put more pressure and workload on the writers.
Another issue is the use of artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, which some studios want to use to replace human writers. The WGA says this would violate their creative rights and devalue their work.
The strike is the biggest disruption to American TV and film production since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the longest strike for the WGA since 2007–08.
It has affected many shows and movies that rely on WGA writers, such as Stranger Things, Saturday Night Live, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Odenkirk himself has also been a part of the WGA strike protests previously, when the union went on strike in 1988. For 153 days, the WGA writers did not work, making it the longest strike they ever had. Odenkirk has always supported TV writers, so he will not stop backing them up while their strike goes on.
Odenkirk’s latest film and TV work includes Lucky Hank, an AMC comedy show where he was Hank, An English department chairman who felt unhappy with his life.
He will also be on The Bear, an FX show that critics love and that will come back with more episodes this summer. He will also play Johnny, the role that Tommy Wiseau had in The Room, in a new version of the movie that will come out this June.
Odenkirk has had a remarkable acting career and delivered outstanding performances, so it is understandable that he supports the writers who craft the narratives he portrays.
The WGA is the foundation of the films and TV series Odenkirk has participated in throughout his career. The Better Call Saul actor appears to be committed to standing with them for the duration of the strike, just like the writers within the WGA.
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