Hollywood writers and studios may be close to reaching a labor agreement and bringing an end to the three-month strike that has put more than 11,000 people out of work.

The groups, represented by the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, may reach a provisional accord as early as this week, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the talks. The deal would have to be approved by a majority of the guild’s members, the newspaper said.

The strike has already cost the local economy of Los Angeles an estimated $1.8 billion. “I fully expect the strike to be settled sometime in the next three weeks,” said David Smith, a professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, who specializes in labor relations. “The writers strike hasn’t yet turned public sentiment against them, but with further inconveniences, it could turn very quickly.”

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