The Hollywood writers strike is over after guild leaders approve contract with studios

LOS ANGELES — Leaders of the screenwriters union declared their nearly five-month-old strike over Tuesday after board members approved a contract agreement with studios, bringing Hollywood at least partly back from a historic halt in production.

The governing boards of the eastern and western branches of the Writers Guild of America and their joint negotiating committee all voted to accept the deal, and afterward declared that the strike would be over and writers would be free to work starting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Late-night talk shows — the first to go dark when writers walked out on May 2 — are likely the first shows that will resume.

The writers still have to vote to ratify the contract themselves, but lifting the strike will allow them to work during that process, the Writers Guild told members in an email.

After Tuesday’s board votes, the contracts were released to the writers, who had not yet been given any details on the deal, which their leaders called “exceptional.”

The members will vote between Oct. 2 and 9.