In 2005, Ray Romano, star of Everybody Loves Raymond, earned a Guinness World Record by earning about $2 million per episode during the show’s ninth and final season.
Twenty years later, the actor is among a select group of performers who continue to earn millions of dollars in residuals even after their series have ended.
Due to the show’s ongoing streaming on platforms like Paramount+ and Peacock, fans were shocked to hear that Romano makes up to $18 million a year in syndication residuals, according to Forbes. Some even joked that he “never has to work again.”
However, it’s not a fresh salary for him alone.
Streaming channels that host shows frequently pay a fixed price with no consideration for the number of times the show is viewed or the star power that initially made it popular.
Who is making the most money from their repetitions, then? And which celebs appear on our TVs year after year without earning anything?
When Ray Romano, star of Everybody Loves Raymond, received $1.94 million per episode for the show’s last season in 2005, he set a Guinness World Record. In the previous series, Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts, Romano, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan, and Brad Garrett are shown from left.
Twenty years later, the 68-year-old is among a select group of actors who continue to earn millions of dollars in residuals even after their series have ended.
Ray Romano: Everybody Loves Raymond earns $18 million annually
The 68-year-old, who portrayed the cynical sports reporter Raymond Barone on the Phil Rosenthal-created series from 1996 to 2005, is said to be worth $200 million today. A large portion of his wealth is reportedly derived from residuals and backend profits.
Everybody Loves Raymond’s eighth season, which debuted in 2003, became well-known following a historic cast contract dispute spearheaded by Brad Garrett, who plays Robert Barone.
Romano signed a $40 million contract for the season, or $1.8 million a week, making him the highest-paid television star in history at the time.
Garrett, who made about $160,000 each episode, was enraged by Romano’s contract renewal, which also said he would receive royalties from syndicated repeats of earlier episodes.
Garrett’s character was removed from the first episode and threatened to be written out permanently because he refused to show up for work until CBS negotiated a new contract.
Peter Boyle, Patricia Heaton, and Doris Roberts, his devoted co-stars, encouraged him by reporting sick.
“Ray deserves every penny, all Brad wants is compensation commensurate with what other similarly situated actors have made in the past and are making today,” his representative stated at the time.
Lisa Kudrow and her co-stars: $20 million annually for Friends
Lisa Kudrow alongside the late Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt Le Blanc
Even though Lisa Kudrow hasn’t shot a scene in 22 years, Friends continues to be an incredible source of income for her.
When asked why she and her four remaining co-stars make $20 million annually from reruns of the American series, Kudrow, 62, joked that it’s because Phoebe Buffay was so amazing.”
But perhaps more crucial to obtaining the kind of syndication rights that ensure Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer never have to work again were steely nerves and a strong team of agents and attorneys.
Celebrity public relations specialist Mark Borkowski states, “It is show [i]business[i] – and there’s nothing more brutal than getting a deal.”
However, he stresses, ‘it really is the lucky few who get millions’.
All of Friends’ cast members, with the exception of Courteney Cox, were unknowns and had little negotiating power when the show began in 1994. LeBlanc had only $9 in his bank account when he was cast as Joey.
Initially, each actor received a pitiful $20,000 per episode.
After two seasons, the six became international celebrities, at which point formal talks started.
In order to maintain power, Schwimmer, who portrayed Ross, reportedly made sure they pushed for pay increases jointly.
By the latter two seasons, they had earned two percent of the show’s syndication revenue from reruns in addition to a staggering $1 million per episode.
Friends, which has been translated into over 40 languages and broadcast in 200 countries, has hardly left our screens since.
In the words of the late Matthew Perry’s character Chandler: “Could we [i]be[i] any richer?”
Pamela Anderson: Baywatch costs $4,000 annually.
Pamela Anderson, 58, portrayed the pneumatic lifeguard in the California rescue series, which at its peak drew 1.1 billion viewers every week worldwide.
With her famous red swimsuit and long, disheveled blonde hair, CJ Parker was known to many as Baywatch.
However, according to her producer son Brandon Lee, Anderson, 58, who portrayed the pneumatic lifeguard in the California rescue series, which at its peak drew 1.1 billion viewers globally each week, “didn’t get a penny” when it was added to Amazon Prime in 2019.
He disclosed in 2023 that his mother earns a pitiful $4,000 annually from Baywatch repetitions, which he called a “crime.” Anderson, a former Playboy pinup, was paid $300,000 each episode by her fifth and last series in 1997, girl from an estimated £1,000 per episode in the first series.
She recently stated, “The Baywatch producers made a fortune.” “I simply lacked representation at the time.” or the expertise.
According to Anderson, who has remade herself as a stage actor and supporter of natural aging, co-star David Hasselhoff, a producer with an ownership share in the show, is thought to have made up to $107 million in repeats. However, hindsight is a lovely thing. “You kind of sign your life away when you’re doing a TV show because you don’t realize it’s going to be that popular.”
Jerry Seinfeld: Up to $402 million for each Seinfeld syndication cycle
By the end of Seinfeld’s last season in 1998, the former stand-up comedian, who co-created the popular comedy with writer, actor, and producer Larry David, was making £750,000 each episode as a fictionalized version of himself.
By the end of Seinfeld’s last season in 1998, the former stand-up comedian, who co-created the popular sitcom with writer, actor, and producer Larry David, was making $1 million each episode as a fictionalized version of himself.
He was so successful, in fact, that he declined $4 million each episode to produce a tenth and final series.
More significantly, he and David both owned 15% of the show’s backend profits—the money earned from a series after it concludes.
He and David earned up to $400 million each time Seinfeld was syndicated (when a network purchased or renewed the rights to the program for a limited time or amount of episodes), according to a 2014 New York Magazine article.
Jerry, who is currently 72 years old, is thought to be worth over $1 billion.
In the meantime, Seinfeld’s co-stars, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who were paid about $500,000 per episode by the previous series, have been “categorically denied” backend earnings, “something that I will go to my grave saying we should have had,” according to Alexander.
“Standard Screen Actors Guild residuals for the reruns are extremely low.”
Nothing for Gilmore Girls, says Lauren Graham
Before being canceled in 2007 and replaced by the four-part Netflix continuation Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in 2016, the original comedy ran for seven seasons on The WB/The CW from 2000 to 2007.
The Gilmore Girls, a sitcom from the 1900s that revolves around a talented but nervous teen and her loving but fierce mother, is having a renaissance on Netflix, Disney+, and ITVX.
However, when asked last year how much she makes from the Netflix contract, Lauren Graham, 58, who played matriarch Lorelai Gilmore in all 153 episodes, claimed it’s a big fat zero.
“Netflix doesn’t actually have any residuals,” she stated. “But I’ve received love and gratitude in return.”
But by the time the sitcom ended in 2007, Graham was reportedly making $90,000 per episode. In 2016, he was reportedly paid $2.5 million for a four-episode remake.
Nothing for Breaking Bad, says Aaron Paul
When Netflix began streaming the series, which debuted on the cable network AMC, in 2011, Aaron Paul, who played Jessie Pinkman, the sidekick of renegade chemistry teacher Walter White, did not enjoy such a windfall.
In the criminal thriller Breaking Bad, he made money as quickly as his adversaries as a crystal meth salesman.
However, when Netflix began streaming the series, which debuted on cable network AMC, in 2011, actor Aaron Paul, who portrayed rogue chemistry teacher Walter White’s sidekick Jessie Pinkman, did not enjoy any such windfall.
In 2023, he joined the actors’ unions SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) on strike over poor compensation, saying, “I don’t get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad to be totally honest, and that’s insane to me.”
“I believe many of these streamers are aware that they have been getting away with not paying workers a fair wage, and now it’s time to pony up.”
Paul, 45, was reportedly making over $120,000 per episode by the 2013 finale, but he was unknown when he started series one for an estimated $25,000 per episode.
Nothing for Dawson’s Creek, Katie Holmes
At the age of 19, Katie Holmes began portraying the innocent Joey Potter, who was in love with Dawson Leery (played by the late James Van Der Beek).
The cast of Dawsons Creek, a landmark coming-of-age drama from the 1990s that can still be purchased or rented on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, became well-known but not exceptionally wealthy.
At the age of 19, Katie Holmes began portraying the innocent Joey Potter alongside her romantic interest, Dawson Leery (played by the late James Van Der Beek).
In 1998, she and her co-stars reportedly made about $30,000 per episode; by the end of the sixth season in 2003, that amount had increased to $140,000.
Joshua Jackson, who played Pacey Witter, stated at the age of 19 that he “would make more money doing four episodes of Dawson’s Creek than most of my friends’ parents made in a year,” which isn’t a terrible salary for a teenager.
Van Der Beek, however, stated in 2012 that “there was no residual money.” I was twenty years old. The contract wasn’t good. From that, I saw very little.
The others, who hosted a live reading of the series pilot last year to raise money for Van Der Beek’s colon cancer treatment, probably felt the same way because he was the main character.
The 47-year-old Holmes, who is most known for marrying (and divorcing) Tom Cruise, has pleasant memories of Dawson’s Creek, saying, “I had a ball doing it and it’s really nice to be a part of something that did affect people.”
Mandy Moore: This Is Us is worth 81 cents.
The family drama This Is Us had a ratings success from 2016 to 2022 because to a leading lady who was already well-known to audiences for her singing career, a smart premise with three distinct timelines, and a prime time 9 p.m. position on NBC.
The family drama This Is Us was a ratings hit from 2016 to 2022 thanks to its smart premise with three distinct timelines, a leading lady already well-known to audiences for her singing career, and a prime time 9 p.m. position on NBC.
Despite playing mother Rebecca Pearson in all 106 episodes and receiving an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination for her role, main actor Mandy Moore, who is well-known for Nineties pop classics like Candy, has only received “very tiny, like, 81-cent checks” for the show’s repetitions.
While acknowledging that she was “profoundly lucky” to be playing at all, Moore, 42, stated in 2023 that she and her fellow performers deserved more.
“In the past, actors could rely on residuals from their previous work to help them get by, and I’ve had very lean years where I couldn’t get a job.”
“I hope we can find a meaningful solution going forward because business and the world have changed.”
Kimiko Glenn: Orange Is the New Black for $27
She disclosed in 2023 that she had received repeat fees from the show totaling $27.30 (£20).
In the groundbreaking comedy drama Orange is the New Black, she played the outspoken inmate Brook Soso at Litchfield Penitentiary. Off-screen, Glenn, 36, who starred in 52 episodes across four series, including sexually explicit material, has been equally vocal about the lack of compensation from one of Netflix’s first original, award-winning shows.
She disclosed in 2023 that she had received repeat fees from the show totaling $27.30 (£20).
She described how the show’s stars were “internationally famous,” yet they couldn’t afford to work in taxis. She also stated that, after taxes, she usually made $1,850 a month from the show.
Glenn, who now plays supporting parts in the sitcom The Upshaws and the political thriller The Night Agent on Netflix, stated, “I think it’s important that we tell these stories.”
Kelsey Grammer: $10 million annually from Frasier
As the best paid TV actor of his era, Grammer was reportedly making £1.2 million each episode by the time he quit playing the stodgy yet endearing Seattle physician Frasier Crane in 2004.
Grammer was reportedly making $1.5 million per episode as the best paid TV actor of his day by the time he concluded his role as stuffy but endearing Seattle doctor Frasier Crane in 2004.
Grammer, 71, is rumored to earn $8.5 million in repeat fees annually, though he has never disclosed his income. It is believed that his promotion to executive producer in 2000 gave him additional negotiation power.
The show, which is frequently aired on Channel 4 and accessible on Paramount+, also stars David Hyde Pierce as Frasier’s equally stiff brother, the late John Mahoney as their grounded father, and Jane Leeves as Martin’s live-in physical therapist Daphne Moon (who became the highest paid British actress in history thanks to her role).
Grammer, a father of eight who is more well-known for his colorful personal life than his later acting performances, used his syndication royalties following his 2017 divorce from Camille Meyer, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She stated last year, “Thank you, Mr. Kelsey Grammer, for all that Frasier money.” “I’m having the time of my life.”
Bob Saget: Full House Could Cost Up to $2,000
By the end of the show, Bob Saget, who played Danny Tanner, a single father raising three children with the assistance of his brother-in-law and best friend, was reportedly making up to £50,000 per episode.
The ABC sitcom Full House, which ran from 1987 to 1995 and featured themes of mixed families and male caregivers, was slightly ahead of its time and has been frequently broadcast in America on Nickelodeon and Disney’s Hulu ever since.
By the end of the series, Saget, who played Danny Tanner, a single father raising three girls with the assistance of his brother-in-law and closest friend, was reportedly making up to £50,000 per episode.
However, he said in a 2010 interview that the money stopped coming in after the show ended.
“Full House money doesn’t exist.” The show wasn’t mine. Nothing is given to you. There are no residual inspections on shows, he claimed.
“If you own a show but aren’t an executive producer, you receive residuals, which can range from $2 (£1.50) to $2,000 (£1,500).”
In 2016, Saget returned for a Netflix revival of Full House, but aside from that, he concentrated on edgy stand-up comedy, which made him somewhat of a risk to mainstream producers.
“The value in Full House was that it made him a household name and brought more work,” a source told the Sun following his death in 2022 at the age of 65 from a suspected heart attack or stroke.
It didn’t make him extraordinarily wealthy on its own.
“He was still required to take other jobs.”
Charlie Higson: Vic Reeves Big Night Out will cost $2 every episode.
Higson, 67, posted screenshots showing £1.74 earnings for the nine episodes he starred in last month.
Charlie Higson, who as Hugh Bond the Heretic and the Applauding Undertaker on the sketch show Vic Reeves Big Night Out in 1990, did not become as wealthy as the Friends ensemble in this Nineties comedy, which was also a hit on Channel 4.
Higson, 67, posted screenshots of $2 payouts for the nine programs in which he starred last month.
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer’s careers were launched by the series, but it hasn’t been replicated often since.
On social media, Higson, who went on to write best-selling novels, said, “My other life as an actor is still paying off big time!””
