SafeX Pro Exchange|Hollywood holds its breath as dual actors, writers' strike drags on. When will it end?

Is Hollywood readying for a return to work?SafeX Pro Exchange

Signs point to progress in the 142-day-old strike by 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America, after CEOs of Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal's studios stepped in to avert a stalemate and held meetings with the union Wednesday and Thursday. On the agenda: thorny issues of pay, benefits and guaranteed work.

But the strike, which has largely shuttered work on American movies, TV dramas and sitcoms, and late-night talk shows, was followed by another walkout by actors on July 14, crippling Hollywood production. Screen Actors Guild president Fran Drescher ("The Nanny") took a hardline stance and laid plans for a six-month walkout, acknowledging that many others − from caterers to makeup artists − were caught in the crossfire and left jobless. "The gravity of a commitment like this is not lost on any of us. It's major," she told USA TODAY in July. "But we also see that we have no future and no livelihood unless we take this action, unfortunately."

What's happening now, and when will your entertainment diet go back to normal? We explain.

Are the Hollywood strikes over yet?

No, not quite.

The WGA must first reach a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which handles labor negotiations on behalf of eight major studios and streaming services. (Some other studios abide by those agreements.) Then, the full WGA membership has to vote on the settlement terms before going back to work.

If they do, writers could resume penning scripts. But the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has to negotiate its own settlement, and labor experts expect they will use some of what WGA agrees to as a template.

What's at stake? Both say they are earning less money as TV seasons grow shorter in an age of streaming: Where a network sitcom would guarantee 22 episodes a year, streaming shows often produce as few as eight or 10 episodes. Actors and writers also earn fewer royalty payments from syndication or overseas runs of shows and movies as streamers demand worldwide exclusive rights to them.

Will my favorite talk shows return when writers go back to work?

Some will. Late-night talk shows − the first to be noticeably missing when the WGA strike began − can return immediately. But Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers can't book actors to promote past or current movie or TV projects until the actors' strike is settled: Such promotion is explicitly banned by SAG, even on social media. But the restriction wouldn't hurt other shows that don't depend on such guests, including HBO's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" and "Real Time With Bill Maher."

Daytime talk shows also can return, although some − including ABC's "The View" and the syndicated "Live With Kelly and Mark" − are produced under separate contracts and remained on the air. Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Drew Barrymore − who announced a plan to resume without writers but quickly backpedaled after an outcry by strikers, as did Hudson and CBS' "The Talk" − could also resume fairly quickly. NBC's "Saturday Night Live" is unlikely to be back until both strikes are settled.

However, getting writers back to work would give studios a head start on writing movies and scripted series, so that production can resume quickly when actors return.

Why do the studios suddenly want to settle?

The AMPTP and the unions have taken aggressive postures as the WGA strike drags on (the last one, in 2007-08, lasted 100 days). The studios have argued in previous contract talks that streaming has upended traditional business models, and they needed more time to sort out how that affects the economics of TV and movie production. A vast increase in the number of projects, dubbed "Peak TV" by one executive, followed streamers' desire to build subscribers at any cost. But their voracious appetites have cooled amid Wall Street's demands for profits, and fewer movies and TV shows are on the horizon. The unions say they've been patient, but view 2023 as an inflection point: If they don't share more of the fruits of their work now, they never will.

But pressure has mounted on studios, many of which have seen declines in their stock prices since the WGA strike began. While they're saving money they would otherwise spend to produce shows and movies, they're losing revenue at the box office and ad money from lower TV ratings. And streaming services risk losing subscribers if they run out of new programming.

What happens if talks break down?

If both strikes aren't settled in the coming weeks, broadcasters will have a hard time salvaging the traditional TV season, which begins next week. Their schedules are littered with reality competitions, game shows, reruns and foreign imports with few recognizable stars. (NBC produced and banked episodes of a handful of new and returning dramas, including reboots of "Quantum Leap" and "Magnum, P.I.," before the strikes.) But even those aren't guaranteed: ABC is making plans to delay next week's return of "Dancing With the Stars," in which celebrity contestants are permitted to participate under terms of the strike, after at least once contestant, actor Matt Walsh, dropped out in solidarity with the unions.

Streamers have longer lead times, and movie studios longer still, so you probably haven't noticed much change in the number of new and returning shows ... yet. But even after a settlement, an emptier pipeline means there'll be fewer shows next year while producers catch up. Some studios and networks have delayed premieres of new movies ("Dune 2") and series ("Fargo") to spread out their slates and fill empty spots on their calendars.

What's on, what's off:Where are my TV shows? Frustrated viewers' guide to strike-hit, reality-filled fall season

When will 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'NCIS' and 'SNL' come back?

If writers go back to work by next month, and actors follow, production could resume late this year and new TV episodes could begin airing by February. Sitcoms require a shorter production schedule, and can air three to four weeks after they're shot; dramas take longer to produce and edit. But shows like "Grey's" and "NCIS" are likely to air 10 to 13 episodes at most, compared to 18 to 22 in a typical season. "SNL" is written the same week it airs, so its return would be much speedier, but there's no chance its customary 21-week season would remain intact.

Contributing: Charles Trepany