Things aren’t going well for the top-rated sitcom at CBS. According to E!, production on the eighth season of “The Big Bang Theory” has been delayed as the main cast negotiates on the terms of a new contract.
Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar are all without contracts, and no new deal is in sight. As told by a source, E! is reporting that the principal cast members—Parsons, Cuoco-Sweeting and Galecki—are all holding out for what the site is calling “Friends” money.
That amount would be equal to $1 million per episode, or what the cast of “Friends” was getting paid towards the end of the series. Helberg and Nayyar are also looking for a pay increase, but it likely won’t be in the $1 million per episode range.
For those wondering, the website is also reporting that the other two female leads—Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch—are still working under a previous contract. Because they became series mainstays later in the show’s run, they never negotiated alongside the main cast.
"We're feeling very confident that everything will work out," CBS head Nina Tassler told the website earlier in the month. "These deals manage to get done miraculously somehow year after year."
It’s unlikely that the network would allow its most popular comedy to be delayed or canceled for a season, but it’s also in the network’s best interest to settle on a deal that works for both the actors and for the series in the long term. As shows become more successful and casts get paid more, the longevity of a series is threatened as costs simply become too much, especially with an ensemble show.
After eight seasons, it’s not unthinkable to imagine this being the cast’s last big contract, and with no guarantee of consistent work outside of the series (again, see “Friends”) it’s understandable that the actors want to ensure their future with a fair contract.
We’ll have more on this situation when/if a new contract is agreed to.
