Writers for the ABC game show The Chase have ended their strike after the show’s producer ITV America has settled the dispute with the Writers Guild.
Scribes on the quiz show, which features a team of contestants competing against trivia experts, had stopped work on March 24, after ITV refused to agree to cover the writers’ work under the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement.
The parties have since agreed on a contract. “ITV Entertainment and the WGAE are pleased to have come to terms for writers on The Chase to be represented by the WGAE and for the show to be covered by the Minimum Basic Agreement,” said the WGA East in a statement.
“We are in agreement that fair and positive work practices are essential to our industry and that, especially during the ongoing battle of the pandemic, the priority is to keep production going and to ensure that people can do their work and build sustainable careers,” the statement continued. “We are glad to have come to terms and that the process is completed.”
Following unsuccessful negotiations in late March, the guild had told their members that “Working Rule 8” — which states that “no member shall accept employment with, nor option or sell literary material to, any person, firm or corporation who is not signatory to the applicable MBAs” — was in effect for the show.
The union insisted that the MBA, which allows for health and pension benefits and residuals, be applied to The Chase writers the way it is for other game shows like Jeopardy! and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? — but ITV maintained that the writers’ demands would “economically cripple the show.”
