‘TV’s Top 5’: Chris Keyser Explains the New WGA Deal (and Why He’s Done Negotiating)

Welcome to the 232nd episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.

Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).

This week, we’re looking at the impact of Hollywood’s dual strike from a different point of view — that of the Entertainment Community Fund, which is helping workers impacted by the work stoppage get by. Here’s how this week’s episode plays out:

1. THE WRITERS STRIKE IS OVER!

After nearly 150 days, the Writers Guild of America’s strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is officially over as the guild’s 11,500 members now head back to work. This segment looks at the tentative, new three-year Minimum Basic Agreement’s key gains (and central loss).

2. WHAT’S NEXT?

Now that the WGA strike has ended, all eyes turn to the performers union, SAG-AFTRA, as the guild is still 70-odd days into its work stoppage. This segment also looks at what’s next for the TV industry as writers have their deals restored, which shows are first to get back to work and just how else the broadcast season may be impacted.

3. STRIKE ZONE: CHRIS KEYSER INTERVIEW

Keyser, the co-chair of the WGA’s negotiating committee, joins us for the third time to discuss the writers strike. In the interview, Keyser opens up about how streaming transparency and residuals will work; why the AMPTP held strong on keeping actual viewership data under lock and key; and issues that have popped up since the deal was announced Sunday, including minimum room size and why the safeguards are for mid-level writers, and how that will impact lower-level scribes. Plus Keyser reveals that he will not return to his role as co-chair of the NegCom (negotiating committee) for the next round of contract talks in 2026.

4. SERIES IN REVIEW: Reservation Dogs

Spoiler alert! We’re actually back to talking about programming! Rolling Stone chief TV critic and BFF of the 5 Alan Sepinwall joins us again, this time for a critical series in review segment about the late and great FX comedy Reservation Dogs. Where will the final season rank on Alan and Dan’s 2023 top 10 list? You’ll just have to tune in to find out.

5. CRITIC’S CORNER

As usual, we end with Dan’s thoughts on this week’s new and returning series. In this episode, he weighs in on season three of Max’s Starstruck and Amazon’s spinoff of The Boys, Gen V.

Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or Mailbag questions you’d like addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.