April 5 (UPI) — The Writers Guild of America said in a surprise weekend announcement it has reached a tentative agreement with the major television and movie studios on a new, four-year deal.

“Today the WGA Negotiating Committee unanimously approved a four-year tentative agreement with the [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] for the 2026 Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA),” the union said in a statement issued late on Saturday.

The WGA’s current labor deal with the AMPTP expires on May 1.

The new agreement must now be ratified by members before taking effect.

“We look forward to building on this progress as we continue working toward agreements that support long-term industry stability,” the producers said in a statement.

The quick deal represents a big change from the last round of MBA negotiations in 2023 during which WGA went on strike for 148 days, forcing television and film production into to a standstill.

In that dispute, the roughly 11,000 writers were demanding “economic fairness,” streaming-service residuals and regulation on the use of artificial intelligence.

The neither writers nor the studios seemed to have an appetite for another protracted conflict this time, however.

The tentative agreement “protects our health plan and puts it on a sustainable path, with increased company contributions across many areas and long-needed increases to health contribution caps,” the WGA said. “The new contract also builds on gains from 2023 and helps address free work challenges.”

With the writers now under contract, Hollywood producers are still negotiating deals with actors and directors, whose contracts each expire on June 30.