It looks like the cast of Modern Family is pulling a Friends -- the dysfunctional sitcom family is apparently asking for more money, as season three comes to a close (on air).
The adult cast members (Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara) are planning to ask series producer 20th Television for a pay raise, multiple sources told The Hollywood Reporter.
For season three's 22 episodes, all (but Ed O'Neill and the kids) made $65,000 per episode. O'Neill cashed in some $105,000 per episode, but is apparently on the fence to join this contract renegotiation battle. THR reports that the cast could ask for as much as $200,000 per episode when season four starts.
It's going to get ugly, a source revealed to THR.
Modern Family has been one of ABC's best products in recent years, pulling in more than 13 million viewers each week. Beyond high ratings, the sitcom has also collected numerous awards, including 11 Primetime Emmys, 5 Writers Guilds, 2 Screen Actors Guilds, 2 Director's Guilds and 3 Television Critic Awards. In January, the show picked up the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series -- Musical or Comedy.
Before lashing out at the Modern Family salary news, remember the cast of Friends and their famous pay raise? After taking a united front (and Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer allegedly taking pay cuts), all six Friends earned $1 million per episode (that's per Friend) in the show's final two years.
As fans of Modern Family patiently wait for news on the future of the Dunphys and the Pritchetts, here's a look at five other TV shows that asked for more money.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the actors behind Claire, Phil, Cam, Mitchell and Gloria are about to ask for a pay raise, in the range of $200,000 per episode. Ed O’Neill, who plays Jay, is reportedly holding back on the salary dispute club, a source told THR. Negotiations are expected to last through the summer.ABC“The Simpsons” nearly ended for good this past fall, when a salary dispute between 20th Century Fox Television and the voice actors made headlines. It came down to an ultimatum -- take a 45 percent pay cut or face cancellation. In early October, Fox announced the “The Simpsons” was renewed for a 24th and 25th season, leading many to believe that pay cuts did take place among the voice actors and producers. In February, “The Simpsons” hit a big milestone, with the airing of its 500th episode.20th Century FoxShowtime almost lost one of its best characters in years, when Michael C. Hall found himself in a salary dispute with the network, for his part in “Dexter.” Despite reports of Hall asking for $4 million more than what the network could offer him ($20 million for two seasons), Showtime announced in November that “Dexter” had been renewed. ShowtimeWho could forget the one about all six “Friends” asking for a massive pay raise as they approached the end of their original contracts? For the final two years of “Friends,” Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry each received $1 million per episode. REUTERSIn a 2010 interview with Jonathan Ross of the BBC, Kim Cattrall confessed that a salary dispute had lead to the demise of “Sex and the City.” Cattrall asked for $1 million per episode, a pay check producers couldn’t write at the time. (Sarah Jessica Parker reportedly made more than $3 million per episode, which included her duties as executive producer).“I felt after six years it was time for all of us to participate in the financial windfall of Sex and the City. When they didn’t seem keen on that I thought it was time to move on,” Cattrall told Ross.REUTERSLast night's episode Mad Men, the third of season five, was the first time that Jon Hamm (who plays Don Draper) directed an entire show. While the episode should have brought the season to life, especially because the two-hour season premier failed to inject any vitality into the long-awaited return of the franchise, Hamm's directorial debut was tedious, drawn out, and ultimately, a snooze-fest.AMC
