Talk about a big bang for your buck.
The original five stars of CBS’ hit show “The Big Bang Theory” are demanding to be paid $1 million per episode, according to a report from Deadline Hollywood. The stars are currently locked in tense contract negotiations with Warner Bros. TV heading into Season 8. Stars including Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar are looking for a huge payday similar to the cast of “Friends.”
According to the Deadline report:
Under their previous contract, Galecki, Parsons and Cuoco earned around $350,000 an episode in Season 7, with each owning 0.25 point of the series’ lucrative backend. Given the enormous success on Big Bang, a blockbuster network and off-network hit which some estimate could generate up to $3 billion for Warner Bros TV, Galecki, Parsons and Cuoco could go into Friends territory with new salaries in the neighborhood of $1 million per episode, plus a bigger piece of the backend.
Insiders say that if a deal is not reached in the next two weeks, production of Season 8 could be delayed. Warner Bros. declined to comment.