Warner Bros. TV agrees to give the series’ three biggest stars a massive pay increase.
Production on the eighth season of The Big Bang Theory was delayed after the series’ three biggest stars, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco, demanded a higher salary during contract negotiations. According to Deadline, a new contract has officially been signed and the trio will receive roughly $1 million per episode, a massive increase from their current earnings of $325,000 per episode.
Warner Bros. TV, the studio responsible for Friends and for the $1 million-per-episode salaries of that series’ cast in its final season, seems to be willing to do whatever it takes to keep the cast of CBS’ top-rated comedy together. In addition to the explosive pay increase, the three main stars of The Big Bang Theory will also get a bigger share of the profits from rerun sales and development deals.
Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco stand to make at least $90 million each over the span of the new three-year agreements; that figure could reach $100 million if the show holds up in syndication.
“The deals for Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco came after marathon negotiations between ‘Big Bang’ producer Warner Bros TV and reps for the actors over the weekend, with Parsons’ pact closing first on Sunday, followed by … Galecki and Cuoco under ‘most favored nations’ terms, ensuring the trio have financial parity with each other,” wrote Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva. “I hear the trio are in the long-rumored ‘Friends’ salary territory, scoring paychecks of $1 million per episode for the 72 episodes the show is slated to produce in Seasons 8-10. What’s more, I hear the door has been left open to a potential 11th season.”
“I also hear that the complex deals go well beyond per-episode fees and also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals and advances towards the back-end — perks associated with talent deals on shows as big as ‘Big Bang.’ In addition to tripling their most recent salaries of $350,000 an episode, I hear Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco also quadrupled their previous ownership on the show, which has gone up from 0.25 to more than a point. I hear Parsons’ pact includes a production deal that spans TV and features and possibly theater, with Galecki and Cuoco also getting producing arrangements. Galecki produced a comedy project for WBTV last season, ‘No Place Like Home,’ which went to pilot at Fox. With the big payday for Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco and the windfall for top profit participants, WBTV still is expected to clear $1 billion in profits, with some projecting that ‘Big Bang’ could contribute to Time Warner’s bottom line twice that over its lifespan.”
Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik, who play series regulars Bernadette Rostenkowski and Amy Farrah Fowler, already have deals in place and received their desired raises last September. However, production on the eighth season can’t resume until original cast members Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, who play Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali, iron out their new contracts.
“I hear the two are close and there is a possibility for them to reach new deals today, though there have been some bumps in the back and forth,” wrote Andreeva. “The close friends, who raised their per-episode fee to more than $100,000 an episode in the 2010 renegotiations, are again negotiating together and had been looking to close the salary gap with fellow original cast members Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco.”
If their contract negotiations go well, the cast could return to work on Wednesday and still be ready for the comedy’s planned Sept. 22 return to CBS.
Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco stand to make at least $90 million each over the span of the new three-year agreements; that figure could reach $100 million if the show holds up in syndication.
“The deals for Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco came after marathon negotiations between ‘Big Bang’ producer Warner Bros TV and reps for the actors over the weekend, with Parsons’ pact closing first on Sunday, followed by … Galecki and Cuoco under ‘most favored nations’ terms, ensuring the trio have financial parity with each other,” wrote Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva. “I hear the trio are in the long-rumored ‘Friends’ salary territory, scoring paychecks of $1 million per episode for the 72 episodes the show is slated to produce in Seasons 8-10. What’s more, I hear the door has been left open to a potential 11th season.”
“I also hear that the complex deals go well beyond per-episode fees and also include larger pieces of the show, signing bonuses, production deals and advances towards the back-end — perks associated with talent deals on shows as big as ‘Big Bang.’ In addition to tripling their most recent salaries of $350,000 an episode, I hear Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco also quadrupled their previous ownership on the show, which has gone up from 0.25 to more than a point. I hear Parsons’ pact includes a production deal that spans TV and features and possibly theater, with Galecki and Cuoco also getting producing arrangements. Galecki produced a comedy project for WBTV last season, ‘No Place Like Home,’ which went to pilot at Fox. With the big payday for Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco and the windfall for top profit participants, WBTV still is expected to clear $1 billion in profits, with some projecting that ‘Big Bang’ could contribute to Time Warner’s bottom line twice that over its lifespan.”
Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik, who play series regulars Bernadette Rostenkowski and Amy Farrah Fowler, already have deals in place and received their desired raises last September. However, production on the eighth season can’t resume until original cast members Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, who play Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali, iron out their new contracts.
“I hear the two are close and there is a possibility for them to reach new deals today, though there have been some bumps in the back and forth,” wrote Andreeva. “The close friends, who raised their per-episode fee to more than $100,000 an episode in the 2010 renegotiations, are again negotiating together and had been looking to close the salary gap with fellow original cast members Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco.”
If their contract negotiations go well, the cast could return to work on Wednesday and still be ready for the comedy’s planned Sept. 22 return to CBS.
