Will Forte Says Writers' Residuals Slashed by Streaming, Fix That First

Will Forte says Hollywood writers might be on the picket line longer than anticipated if they can't get the kind of money they used to ... which has changed a lot due to technology.

The 'SNL' alum was showing support Wednesday with protesters outside of Sony's HQ in Culver City -- and he chopped it up with us about one of the key sticking points in the WGA's negotiations with studio execs ... namely, a sharp decrease in residuals earned in TV.

As Will explains, writers used to get extra cash every time their work aired -- that's on top of their going rate to do the job. However, in the era of streaming-first programming, those residuals have mostly gone down the drain.

Not just that, but Will says there are fewer episodes per season being made these days. Whereas a regular season on cable or a network back in the day used to run 20+ episodes -- streaming shows now are much shorter, clocking in at about 10 episodes a season or less.

Bottom line ... writers have gotten screwed on getting paid on multiple fronts -- which is one of the big reasons why this strike is happening ... among other factors, like AI, staffing, etc.

Considering the media landscape has changed drastically in the past 10-15 years ... Will predicts this impasse will last for a little while. There are some major corrections writers are demanding in any new agreement -- and the studios are gonna need to meet them halfway.

The question ... how long will this go on? Content is getting cranked out at a way faster pace than the last strike, so studios presumably have stuff in the vault and can hold a while.