Hollywood actors ratify four-year contract covering studios and streaming services

SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly ratified a four-year contract with Hollywood studios and streaming services, approving labor terms that include protections involving synthetic actors created through artificial intelligence.

The ratification vote took place June 4, 2026, and the result was reported June 5. It finalized a tentative agreement reached by the actors’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in May 2026.

The agreement covers television and movie actors working with studios and streamers represented by the AMPTP. It establishes the labor framework for those performers for four years, extending a period of stability in an entertainment industry still dealing with the effects of the major Hollywood strikes of 2023.

What the ratification changes

Ratification moves the agreement from a tentative deal reached by negotiators to an approved contract between SAG-AFTRA and the companies represented by the AMPTP. The deal applies to the television and film actors covered by the union’s negotiations with the studios, streaming services and production companies involved.

Union leaders said the contract includes protections against synthetic actors created through artificial intelligence. The approved source material does not provide the full language of those provisions, so the ratification should not be read as establishing a complete ban on artificial-intelligence tools or every possible use of digitally created performers.

The agreement also sets labor terms for actors working in an industry where streaming services have changed how television and film are produced and distributed. The source packet identifies streaming residuals as part of the broader industry context, but it does not provide the contract’s specific residual formulas, wage schedules or other financial terms.

How the deal fits the post-strike labor timeline

The agreement followed negotiations that produced a tentative four-year deal in May. That agreement then went to union members for a ratification decision, culminating in the June 4 vote.

The actors’ contract was part of a broader set of Hollywood labor agreements negotiated after the 2023 strikes. Associated Press reporting on the industry context said writers and actors had also approved four-year agreements, while a comparable four-year agreement for directors was reported as a tentative deal on June 10.

Those parallel agreements matter because film and television production depends on multiple groups whose contracts govern different parts of the industry. The actors’ ratification does not eliminate the possibility of future labor disputes, but it gives the studios, streamers and covered performers a longer period under an approved agreement.

What happens next

The immediate next step is implementation of the ratified four-year contract for the covered television and movie actors and the companies represented by the AMPTP. The packet does not identify a separate implementation deadline or provide the contract’s complete wage, residual, option or artificial-intelligence language.

For performers, studios and streaming services, the central consequence is that the negotiated terms are now approved rather than merely proposed. The AI provisions will be especially significant as production companies and performers navigate the use of synthetic actors and related technologies, although the available reporting does not specify every protection or restriction in the agreement.

The ratification also adds to the labor stability that followed the 2023 Hollywood strikes. That stability applies to the actors and employers covered by this agreement; it should not be generalized to every entertainment worker, production or future labor negotiation.