We all know the underdog story. It’s all about the little guy taking on something or someone with all the power and control in the world. And yet, against all the odds, the little guy manages to beat the odds and everyone goes on to celebrate. We all like the underdog story as it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s the kind of story that makes us believe we can do anything. Unfortunately, most of the time, that’s all it is: a story. A piece of fiction we imagined to make us feel good. Sure, there are some true stories where giants were taken down but those are few and far between.

Well, sadly, this might be the same case for the current Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild strikes. Even with their combined forces, they just might not be able to beat the combined might of Hollywood and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Now, I’ve mentioned before I’m far from a Hollywood insider. I don’t know the inner workings and the machinations of what it takes to make a movie or a television show. All I do know is that most of modern American entertainment, that would be movies and television programs, are not being made while the WGA and SAG are on strike. There’s also a lot to unpack regarding all of the WGA and SAG’s demands so I can’t really get into details regarding all of the nitty-gritty. There are a lot of videos dissecting all of this and I’ve watched a good number of them. But I will admit, I’m still kind of lost as there is probably a lot of stuff these videos haven’t discussed or glossed over.

But here’s the thing: the WGA and SAG have been on strike for months now. The WGA went on strike at the start of May while SAG did in the middle of July. You would think there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. A sign that things are going to resolve themselves soon. There has been some good news, as the AMPTP finally gave a counter-offer to the Writers Guild of America, a mere three months after the WGA went on strike. That’s good news. But that’s only for things to get the ball rolling. This is just the start of negotiations and the road is still far and long before the two can actually get along. Unlike the WGA, there is no word if SAG will head back to the negotiating table soon.

But here’s the thing: I don’t think Hollywood is in no rush to sign a new contract. You may think they have every impetus to do so. After all, the new Fall season of television is fast approaching so all of the networks will need those writers and actors to crank out new television programs. Well, it’s not that simple as it does look like the AMPTP are ready to “starve them out”, allegedly. No one’s been quoted saying it… but, yeah.

The thing is, Hollywood has no impetus to rush negotiations because it does look like they’ve planned for this very contingency. Take a look at the major streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. Does it look like they’re starving for new content? No, they aren’t! Just in August, Disney+ will be releasing the Ashoka series and a new season of High School Musical: The Series. They also have stuff further down the pipeline, like the new Percy Jackson television series, more I Am Groot shorts, some episodes of Raven’s Home and the second season of Loki, just to name a few. Netfix is the same. They just released Heart of Stone, an action movie starring Gal Gadot and a series called Painkiller. They will also be releasing the live-action version of One Piece, the last season of Disenchantment and the animated Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

That’s a ton of stuff and all of these project were just being tinkered in post production. Who’s knows what other stuff they have in the works? Essentially, the streaming services have stockpiled on the work of the WGA and SAG people way before the strike happened and they can slowly trickle them out while the same people who worked on them so diligently start to stave while they’re on strike.

That’s not even including all the other television programs Hollywood can simply import while they’re not producing any new stuff. By simply taking a gander as what the upcoming Fall television schedule has, I’ve already spotted several Canadian shows, like Transplant, The Spencer Sisters, Sullivan’s Crossing and Children Ruin Everything. There are also other foreign programs, such as the German show The Swarm as well as the original Ghosts comedy and Everybody Else Burns from the UK. I’m not even mentioning all of the game shows they’re going to be pumping out during the Fall season. They don’t have to be good shows; they’re just there to pass the time until the WGA and SAG cave in, I mean, negotiate a deal that better suits the AMPTP.

On the movie side of things, it does looks like Hollywood has that on lock as well for the rest of the year. There’s the third entry of The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington, a new Hercule Poirot movie in A Haunting in Venice, the Spider-Man spinoff Kraven the Hunter, the much anticipated Dune: Part II, a couple of new superhero movies in The Marvels and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom and many more I’m not mentioning for brevity. All of this is going to be trickled out slowly for the rest of the year. And, hey! If they need to do reshoots… they won’t! Just edit the crap out of them to make it work. Even if it doesn’t work, we’ll release them anyway!

So, you can see why I’m kind of worried about the WGA and SAG not getting their proper dues. Even with the strikes lasting as long as they have, Hollywood still has the massive upper hand as, thanks to them pushing the writers and the actors to give them the products they need to weather these very strikes, they’re in a very comfortable position. They’re still going to be making money, even if the writers and actors aren’t.

However, like I said, there is some hope as Hollywood might be feeling the strain a little bit as, after four whole months of silence, they did reach out to the WGA with a proposal. It’s not a good proposal from what I read but it’s, at the very least, better than nothing. But still, I don’t want the WGA and SAG to give in because they’re getting “better than nothing.” I really do hope they get the majority of the demands. After all, where would movies and television be without the writers and actors in the first place?

Do you think the WGA and SAG will eventually get a good deal with Hollywood? How long do you think the strikes are going to last? Let me know in the comments section below!