Good news (sort of), everyone!

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) has signed a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The deal is a three year agreement, and is pretty damn similar to the DGA and WGA deals, including some new provisions applying to streaming internet TV, but completely missing out on additional DVD residuals.

Did the AMPTP get away with it again? Yes. But those who didn’t see this coming, in the words of Michael Lohan, mush have less-than half a brain…

This deal was supposed to put the pressure on the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) to sign the same deal before the June deadline for striking. As of today, SAG has yet to poll its membership about the work-stoppage, but has issued a statement reiterating their additional demands: actors should have to give consent to have clips of their work used online and in advertising, actors should be able to refuse product integration if they personally disagree with the way the product is being handled, and actors should have some security over low budget internet-projects that are often put suddenly out of business with a force majeure.

AFTRA only covers about a dozen shows worth of actors including “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Rules of Engagement,” “Flight of the Conchords,” “Dante’s Cove,” “Til Death” and “Reaper” plus new sitcoms “Project Gary,” “Harper’s Island” and “Roman’s Empire.” Most of primetime television and all the film actors are still up in the air with SAG, who have about one month to find a deal with the AMPTP before we’re forced to live through Strike II.

Our bet? SAG drags this out until the strike. Because they are being represented by selfish idiots. The AMPTP is not going to give more to one union over another without pissing everyone off, and SAG – like the WGA – will have to cave sooner or later.