So a pretty ridiculous article came out today citing that The Simpsons (pretty much my favorite shows of all-time) could very well be cancelled due to salary disputes between the network and the cast. “We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model,” Twentieth Century Fox said in a statement.
Right…
This is a show that sells a BILLION dollars worth of merchandise every year, has its own theme park attraction, hundreds of episodes already in syndication, and is approaching their 500th episode and is already the longest running series in primetime history – anyone who believes that The Simpsons are worth more to FOX off the air than on are niave and short-sighted.
You don’t stop the 800-lb gorilla dead in its tracks when there are still more buildings for him to scale, and The Simpsons most definitely still has a lot of life left in the show. Yeah, the viewership ain’t what it used to be … just like every show on TV thanks to new media on the Internet! And yes, it does seem kind of crazy for the voice actors to make $250,000 an episode … that is, until you factor in that during its prime, the stars of Friends were making $1 million an episode (during season 10) and the cast of Seinfeld was making $600,000 an episode (during season 9; also, Jerry made $1 mill/ep).
By the way, The Simpsons is currently on season 23.
The point is that although it seems like stupid money to the rest of us to think that these stars make more per week than most of us will in several years, it’s really a pretty common thing in Hollywood for veteran actors, so all the network is trying to do here is scare up a little fan animosity in hopes of convincing the cast to give up some of their profits so that they don’t have to do the same.
The show has been on for 21 years – FOX may have its faults, but they’re not going to kill their golden goose over $18 million/year in salary disputes with these actors.