Verve Signs Showrunner & Top WGA Negotiator Meredith Stiehm

Another member of the WGA-Agency Agreement Negotiating Committee has signed with Verve having previously been represented by a Big 4 agency.

Veteran showrunner Meredith Stiehm, WGA West board member and agency negotiating committee co-chair, has signed with Verve, the only notable lit agency that has agreed to the WGA’s new Code of Conduct. She joins fellow agency negotiating committee member John August, who announced his move to Verve on Friday.

Stiehm’s signing is not a reaction to that, she also committed to Verve last week though her move was not confirmed until today. The two are among several writers who have gone to Verve over the past week or so.

Stiehm has been one of the most vocal showrunners against agency packaging and is a plaintiff in WGA’s lawsuit against the Big 4 agencies over the practice. She has shared publicly her experience of being “packaged” on the series she created and executive produced, CBS’ procedural drama Cold Case, condemning it as unfair and hurtful to the show.

Stiehm, also known for her stints as an executive producer on Showtime’s Homeland, was previously at WME. Like more than 7,000 other writers, she fired her agency, which did not sign the new Code of Conduct, in April.

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