Hundreds of members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) picketed in New York and Los Angeles in the first work stoppage to hit Hollywood in 15 years.

“We are asking for very fair compensation, and basically the studios laughed at us,” writer Daniel Talbott, 45, said as guild members protested outside the Paramount film studio in Hollywood, one of more than a dozen picket sites. “We are trying to fight for our rights.”

A group representing Walt Disney, Netflix, and other studios said it had offered “generous” compensation but the sides were unable to reach an agreement in last-minute talks on Monday.

Some actors turned out to back the 11,500 striking writers.

“I support the writers because as actors we are only as good as the writing we get,” said Rob Lowe, who was picketing with his son, writer and actor John Owen Lowe.

In New York, WGA members marched and chanted “No writers, no TV” outside a building where Comcast’s streaming service Peacock was holding a presentation for advertisers.

Writers got creative with their picket signs. One read “What would Larry David do?”, while another threatened: “Pay your writers or we’ll spoil ‘Succession’.”

“Jimmy Kimmel Live”, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”, and other late-night shows cancelled new episodes and were set to air reruns after being left without their teams of writers to pen timely jokes.

Sketch show “Saturday Night Live” also shut down indefinitely.

On Monday night, the WGA said its leadership unanimously supported a strike against the studios. “The companies’ behaviour has created a gig economy inside a union workforce,” the WGA said in a statement.

The guild is seeking changes in pay and the formulas used to compensate writers when their work is streamed, among other proposals.

The WGA estimated its changes would cost about US$429 million (RM1.9 billion) a year, according to a negotiations summary shared on Twitter and verified by Reuters.