Jennifer Aniston and 'Friends' Cast Still Cash In $20M Individually, Show Makes a Whopping $1B Annually
Since its premiere on NBC in September 1994, Friends has been one of the most-watched television shows of all time. The reason Netflix agreed to pay $100 million is because Friends is more than just beloved; it's become an addiction for many. The NBC comedy series Friends ended 16 years ago, but its stars are still raking in the dough.
The Friends cast members are still among the highest-paid performers in television history. In the first season, the salary for each actor was $22,500 per episode. The pay was increased to $40,000 per episode the next season, but complications developed when the increase wasn't extended to all six performers. Warner Bros. increased the cast's episode salary by $15,000 for season 5, and by an additional $25,000 for season 6, bringing the total episode salary to $125,000 for all six actors.
The first massive raise occurred between seasons 7 and 8 when each regular cast member received $750,000 per episode. Aniston, Cox, and Kudrow's salaries skyrocketed in the show's last two seasons, making them the highest-paid actresses on television. The actors signed a $1 million per episode contract for seasons 9 and 10.
The Cast of Friends Is Still Cashing In Big Time
The ten seasons of "Friends" aired from 1994 to 2004. Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, and Jennifer Aniston, all became household names because of the show's popularity. With 236 episodes of Friends available for TV repeat blocks, the program is a top contender for the lucrative syndication market. Because of the strong back-end negotiations that were hammered out with the actors' contracts, the potential royalties from these partnerships are unlimited.
It turns out that Warner Bros. generates an estimated $1 Billion every year off of Friends alone through licensing and merchandise. Even though it may not seem like much, it obviously defies the odds that the stars would get just 2% of the syndication money. It's hard to imagine someone being upset about being paid $20 million for their efforts more than a decade ago.
From its September 1994 premiere until its May 2004 finale, the television series "Friends" was more of a cultural staple than a box office smash. The likes of this success story just do not exist in 2021, especially on television. The dominance of prime-time television viewing since the 1990s has been slashed to ribbons by the proliferation of alternatives, such as cord-cutting, app subscriptions, repeat viewing, and the choice to browse through social media instead.
