What happens to actor salaries around seasons 6-7 of a show?
Many successful (broadcast, United States) TV shows last about 5-7 seasons. Somehow I'd gotten this story in my head in which this was a combination of two factors:
- TV shows become more attractive candidates for syndication once they've aired about 100 episodes, which usually means 5 seasons.
- The SAG pay scale for series regulars increases as the series goes on, and generally becomes unsustainable somewhere around season 6 or 7.
I can find a ton of references for the first bullet point (starting with this Wikipedia article), so I'm reasonably convinced it's true. On the other hand, I'm having trouble finding any evidence for the second one. I've poked through the SAG rate sheets and haven't found anything that varies by season, but they're complicated enough that I could believe I'd missed something (and in any case they only give the current pay scale and not its history, and won't tell me much about how affordable the pay increases are).
Is something like the second bullet point actually true? If so, is there a good reference I can use to convince myself of it?
Best Answer
It mainly depends on how a show does, especially after the first season. Some shows like Cheers managed to get through their first season without great ratings, and the risk paid off over the long term (almost no non-cable show would be able to get away with that nowadays). Most shows that run on terrestrial TV (i.e. non-cable channels), do indeed strive for the 100 episode benchmark (which is not a set-in-stone rule: The A-Team didn't quite make the threshold, but still runs occasionally on reruns; other shows like Grace Under Fire do make over 100 episodes and wind up either sitting in a vault somewhere or fill up time on Lifetime).
As this article points out in the opening paragraph:
There’s star power and then there’s bankability. And if you have both, you’re really golden.
This is why someone like Charlie Sheen was able to negotiate a deal where he'd make 100 episodes of Anger Management. Charlie was wildly popular from Two and a Half Men, and although he went through a public meltdown, he was embraced soon afterwards as someone who seemed to be really likeable (though tell that to Selma Blair). Charlie's contract means he's getting far less per episode than he could be getting if he continued on Anger Management and the show becomes extremely popular, but he's getting far more in the long run if the show works out.
The bottom line is that there is no hard-set rule about when a star's salary becomes so high people start talking about it - it has a lot to do with the star themselves and how popular the show is.
Pictures about "What happens to actor salaries around seasons 6-7 of a show?"
Do actors get paid every time an episode airs?
Actors (other than background actors) get paid again when a performance is rerun. In TV's past, those payments ended after a certain number of replays; now they can go on forever \u2014 making those \u201cLaw & Order\u201d reruns an annuity for the actors. As for how much the performers are paid, it varies.How much do recurring actors make on TV shows?
A guest star is considered a "major role" performer. For a half-hour show, as of July 2011, the rate is $4,538, which represents five times the ordinary day rate with a 10 percent surplus so that the actor can pay his agent's fee. An hourlong show pays $7,260.How much do recurring actors make per episode?
SERIES REGULARS IN 1/2 HOUR SAG actors are paid weekly for their time, with $3,664 / week for appearing in every episode, $4,195 per week for appearing in more than half, and $4,891 per week for appearing in half.How much do actors get paid in a series?
Television Actor Newcomers can expect to earn just $15,000 to $20,000 per episode on a network or cable series. Experienced actors take home as much as $75,000 to $100,000 an episode, and bigger stars can earn $150,000 to topline a series in its first season.The Pink Panther Show Season 1 | 5 Hour MEGA Compilation | The Pink Panther Show
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Answer 2
If I remember correctly, the standard contract for headlining TV actors is for seven years; with some options of renegotiation during, options for dropping out, being written out, allowance to take on other roles, etc.
After the contract is up, and the TV show is still popular/makes money, the actors pretty much make the show what it is (in the eyes of the majority of the public, at least), so they have an upper hand in asking for much bigger salaries. It also happens that after those 7 years, the contracts are renegotiated every year or every two years, and their salaries go through the roof (recent example: Big Bang Theory main actors).
During the first 7 years though, and you might have noticed that on many shows, actors get the "executive producer" credits, even if they are not directly or even indirectly involved in the decision making or creative process of making the show. This is one of the ways to bump their salary or provide honorary title, which gives them more bargaining clout in the long run.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.