Last month, we discussed Netflix paying $100M to keep the sitcom Friends streaming for another year. At the time the deal was announced, I assumed the cast themselves would not see any of that money, but it turns out, they will. And a decent amount, too. It was recently published that each cast member makes 2% of the syndication income, which means each one is making about $20M a year.
Fourteen years after the beloved sitcom went off the air, the show’s main six cast members, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry, continue to bring in a very hefty income each year, according to USA Today.
The stars all receive 2 percent of the syndication income, the outlet reported.
Because the Warner Bros. show brings in a total of $1 billion annually for the network, that means each cast member rakes in $20 million every year.
Forgive my language but good googley-mogley, that’s some serious cash for work completed 14 years ago! I remember when the cast all banded together and negotiated their $1M per episode salaries and they were praised for their business acumen. I had no idea how good their deal was. And good for them – someone’s making a ton of money, why not a cut for the actors responsible? This also explains why there isn’t a real likelihood of a reunion. It won’t do any good to throw money at them because the money is already coming in. It also explains how the cast is able to either take breaks for personal reasons, which is great, or experiment with less mainstream roles – they simply have the luxury of doing so. Must be nice.
Speaking of the Friends’ careers, I checked IMDb to see what the gang was up to. Jennifer Aniston’s next big thing is her show with Reese Witherspoon. Courteney Cox is dabbling, including guest spots on shows like Shameless. Plus, if you haven’t seen her on Drunk History, you really need to. Lisa Kudrow’s had a great post-Friends career. Her next movie is an Olivia Wilde-directed film called Booksmart but I didn’t realize she’d had a reoccurring role on Grace and Frankie. Matt LeBlanc is headlining his fourth TV series, Man with a Plan, that begins its’ third season in February. I haven’t seen that one, but I was hooked on Episodes. Matthew Perry is looking after his health, as he should, and David Schwimmer is slowly doing more and more TV, currently with his arc on Will and Grace. I’m not loving the reboot of the show itself, but I do like his character.
Photo credit WENN Photos
They deserve it. I still love the show!
I don’t think those numbers are anywhere close to correct.
Friends does not gross $1billion per year
If they still each made $2-4 million it would sound accurate and still excellent cake
indeed. 2% of 100 mil is not 20 mil 😋
That’s mind boggling…but good for them. I enjoyed the show in its heyday and like the blast of nostalgia I get when I catch a snippet on the apparently highly lucrative Nick at Nite.
I still love the show SO MUCH
I love them all forever
and wow what a cash cow
But this kind of deal really was one of the last of its kind
TV is no longer the powerful machine it was
Good for them
Actually, TBBT cast did the same thing for the main (original) characters, and got $1M/per episode.
I loved the show then…
I adore it now…
So good for them! Because the show is making BUCKETS of cash…every 1/2 of the day…ALL over the world for the parent company…so yes…they should be PAID!
I read an interview from S. Epatha Merkerson, who plays the Lt. Anita Van Buren on “Law & Order”…and she was a main character on there for YEARS…but she said she only gets pennies per episode for her work in residual checks…and EVERYBODY knows that “Law & Order” runs as much as “Friends” all over the world…
And she was one of the longest running, just as integral as Sam Waterston cast members. Shameful. I wonder what others are getting in residuals.
Agreed that every actor should get their due, but Law & Order is for sure not aired as much as Friends is. Venture overseas (especially the UK) and Friends is still basically a primetime show for a lot of countries. It’s had a staggering amount of staying power for something that went off the air over a decade ago.
Dick Wolfe, the producer of L&O also came out in public and said he would have fired his cast if they banded together like the friends. So that explains why that cast isn’t making big bucks.
They deserve it and some don’t ever need to work again or can do stuff they actually like.
Friends was on when I was a teen, but I never got to watch because I was always in dance rehearsal. Now, the young 20s that I work with all know these episodes by heart. They quote it everyday and it is so funny to me. They are better experts on 90s stuff than I am!
I love S. Epatha! Such a great talent.
Do the math as if
JustinTheroux is metally challenged as is anyone not with Jen LOL. I always say I know being gay is a choice because I would totally choose to be gay with Jennifer Aniston talk about a fun life LOL (but no I’m so CIS it’s boring(
I adored this show back in the day,coming home and watching it at 8 on Thursday on NBC.For some reason I can’t get back into it now, I think if I started from episode one and watch with my 16 year old daughter.
Are they getting all that money in checks of two cents each?
Don’t care for the show but good for them.
YES, this is awesome. AND I wish all the other people who worked on the show, especially the technical side, got residuals too for all their hard work. I’m not in the biz, so maybe they do, but my guess is not.
When I watch the show now I notice how overlooked Matt LeBlanc was. He’s so good- his delivery and timing were great. I think he made dumb Joey look so simple that people took it for granted.
NBC and WB actually wanted to cut him during the great contract negotiation debacle. He was purportedly their sacrificial lamb to get the actors to fall in line. That never happened but NBC and WB considered him the weakest friend. These little tidbits are so interesting in hindsight.
Incompletely agree with you. He was so great and natural. To me, Friends is a timeless
Show.
2% of 100 million is 2 million each
But 2% of the billion dollars the show rakes in every year (!!!) is $20 million.
I say good for them. It’s a small percentage, and they were a huge part of making it so popular. I remember people freaking out at the million/episode thing, but it turns out to be well worth it, if the show is still generating that much money all these years later.
Thank you! I had to do the math too because I knew that $20 million was wrong!
Oops, ETA that $20 mill is not based on the $100 mill from Netflix.
This is depressing and kinda gross, that this much money is going to actors for old work. This money could benefit so many people/countries in need, our priorities are F-ed up.
Well if someone is making money hand over fist on a project you worked on years ago, won’t you want a part of that? In a business sense it is their right. These are entertainers. They are not politicians. Congress and that orange turd are the ones who are suppose to help the rest of the US.
I always find it odd that people target the actors for this kind of critique…failing to recognize the corporation behind it that is making vastly more money for selling the same product. The actors are the reason people watch it. Why shouldn’t they get part of the profit when it sells for decades?
People don’t say, “It’s gross that this much money is going to Warner Bros. for old work.”
I disagree, it is entertainment but it is also all about free market, business world..Big capitalism..Artists should not participate in this totally obscene inequality system. These actors should be paid for their work but not in such disparity and with too high pay check. Enough is enough with this system.
Good for them! I loved Friends and I still do.
matt leblanc is in a primetime series that was renewed for a *third* season? and episodes was pretty successful! *and* he had a thing going as host of top gear.
dang, would not have thought, out of all of them, he would still be so successful after ‘friends.’ his range seemed limited and it looked like he’d be typecast. good for him.
Well it is too much..Entertainment should not be the poster child of neoliberalism/free market.