“Friends” is one of the most successful sitcoms in TV history, and despite the show ending in 2004, it remains a big source of income for its stars. Lisa Kudrow revealed that she and her co-stars continue to receive substantial residuals, highlighting the series’ enduring popularity and ongoing success through syndication and streaming deals.
It has been widely reported that the six “Friends” stars, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry, were able to secure a deal with Warner Bros., giving them 2 percent of everything that the entertainment company earns from the sitcom.
Considering the show makes $1 billion a year for Warner Bros., that translates to $20 million annually for the stars. Kudrow seemingly confirmed the amount in an interview with The Times. When asked why she thinks “Friends” is still bringing in $20 million in repeat fees, she jokingly answered, “Because Phoebe Buffay was so great?” referring to her character.
Since “Friends” aired its final episode in 2004 after Season 10, the show has remained in heavy syndication, with countless reruns across television networks and streaming platforms. The show continues to delight long-time fans and reach new audiences, cementing its status as one of the most rewatched sitcoms in TV history.
The ‘Friends’ Cast Started With Decent Pay
“Friends” catapulted its cast to global fame and helped define them as the stars they are today, but when the show first aired in 1994, the six celebrities were not household names. In the first season, they reportedly earned $22,500 per episode, a decent amount, according to Forbes.
As the show’s popularity grew, the stars’ pay per episode also gradually increased each season. By Season 5, each actor was reportedly paid $100,000 per episode, and that figure skyrocketed to $1 million per episode for the show’s last two seasons.
It’s worth noting that when “Friends” was on air, shows typically had far more episodes than today’s series. Throughout its run, the show averaged 18 to 24 episodes per season.
The Six ‘Friends’ Fought For $1 Million Per Episode
By Seasons 7 and 8, the “Friends” stars took home $750,000 per episode, and before the next season started production, the six castmates negotiated their salaries as a group. As reported by Business Insider, “Friends” had an average of 24.7 million viewers weekly in 2002, which was higher than any of the shows airing at that time.
The outlet also reported that by Season 2, Aniston and Schwimmer earned more than their castmates due to their characters being the center of a storyline, but by Season 3, they started collectively bargaining for their pay, with the two highest earners taking pay cuts for equality.
The show’s popularity gave the cast leverage to negotiate a deal as a unit, and Schwimmer, backed by his co-stars, firmly championed equal pay among the six of them. NBC agreed to a $1 million-per-episode salary for all six actors for Seasons 9 and 10.
Lisa Kudrow And Matt LeBlanc On Their Million-Dollar Salary
In 2014, Kudrow shared the cast’s reason for asking $1 million per episode. The actress said that it only made sense, since the show was “generating an enormous amount of money.” “It’s affordable. to whatever entity has to pay it,” she explained, adding that as actors, they didn’t have the assurance of a job. “You never know when your time is up,” Kudrow told HuffPost.
LeBlanc also discussed the salary in his own interview with the outlet, saying that at the time he and his castmates were “in a position to get it.” “If you’re in a position to get a raise and you don’t get it, you’re stupid. You know what I mean? We were in a position and we were able to pull it off,” the actor said.
Supporting Cast Members Earn Thousands In Residuals
In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Vincent Ventresca, who portrayed the character of Fun Bobby in two episodes of “Friends,” shared that he still gets residual checks from “Friends,” saying, “I get about $2,000 a year in residuals, and I only did two episodes.”
James Michael Tyler, who played Central Perk’s manager Gunther, appeared in more than 100 episodes of the series, but didn’t have lines in most of them. In 2019, he said he still got residual checks for the episodes where he did speak. “I’m fortunate to have a supplement into my income because of ‘Friends’,” he said, but jokingly added that it wasn’t enough to buy an island.
All seasons of “Friends” are available for streaming on Max in the U.S., and on Netflix in some European and Asian countries.