Baker Machado and Arielle Hixson take a closer look at why big movie stars are embracing television now more than ever.

Between Bells

Why Movie Stars Are Switching to TV

Welcome back to Between Bells. I'm Ariel Hickson with my co host baker Machado. Good to see you. Ariel, not Ariel Euphoria star. Sydney Sweeney recently got candid about the financial realities of the entertainment industry. That in an interview with the Hollywood reporter, the actor explained that she couldn't afford to take a six month break from the business even if she wanted to. That's because the residuals aren't like they used to be. Thanks to the dog, One of the streaming age. But there are still some actors on TV making some pretty major money so let's dive right into it and the numbers, there's a lot of power there a mantra that the cast of friends followed back in 2020 or 22,002 when they successfully negotiated their historic $1 million dollars an episode paycheck deal altogether. A move that sent shockwaves all throughout Hollywood. My first paycheck behind me for context. Your salaries for stars on new shows during that era usually topped out at around 100 and 50,000. That $1 million paycheck used to be a rare occurrence among television stars, with the stars of Friends and the Big Bang Theory among the first to obtain a seven figure paycheck. However, payday with six zeros is much more common these days, especially for big movie stars taking a stab at tv. Yeah. And according to talent representatives, Ariel, the top range of tv salaries has now leveled off at 750,000 to a million dollars an episode and that's just for key players. Game of Thrones and the Handmaid's tale. Just to Of the many TV series that have handed out the big bucks, the next tier. Still pretty nice. It ranges between $600 and $800,000 an episode. Also sources note that streamers willing to go a little above and beyond when it comes to their paycheck budget, especially if they're making their first foray into television or for an exceptionally well known actor. How many other women did he go to if there's one there are others. Oh my God. Oh my God, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. What should we call that foreplay on top of full series, orders many and limited series popularity allows networks and streamers to compete for more awards while also giving huge movie stars a chance to dabble in television today. It's commonplace to spot an a list movie star on your Tv screen and of course the huge paycheck doesn't hurt. Little fires everywhere And nine perfect strangers are just some series that definitely come to mind. However, the television world Ariel has pivoted now to a cost plus license fee model. Yet again, they essentially pay an actor upfront in the form of higher fees rather than future profit participation points, which is basically how much a profit a person receives when they, when the project makes money but actors have been willing to embrace that model. That's because most series now just shooting only 8 to 10 episodes per season in order to attract some of those very big names out there. Anything in here that you don't understand. Okay, get out, Get out. All right, Gilly get going. Get out of here please. Of course, you don't necessarily need a huge name if you have the right I. P. Disney plus marvel shows, HBO's new hit, House of the Dragon and Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings. The Rings of Power are just a few of the titles with a built in fan base. But whether it's Kevin Costner or Meryl Streep, it's not a matter of if, but when the next big movie star will head to the small screen for some big bucks. One series that comes to mind. I know those stars are making lots of money is the morning show. I mean, come on you, you got some big players including Jennifer Aniston, you've got just a large number of people who are on that show and it's just crazy how now a days, these big name actors are really tapping in to these television shows and you know, it really is making everyone watch Michael Keaton right there. An Oscar Winner Reese Witherspoon as part of the morning show. Also an Oscar Winner, Meryl Streep, An Oscar Winner. Nicole Kidman. The list goes on and on. So you're right and Julia roberts is now on television now. So we're basically just waiting for the day now where you see jennifer Lawrence, maybe Leo Dicaprio. But because it's so easy now to get good money a project probably that they like with a producer that there they're attached to and you only have to do 8 to 10 episodes. This is so different from network television, where you're basically having to commit to 24 episodes a season and you would have multiple seasons after that. Now, these limited series are so easy, you could go and have something like Black Mirror where you only have to do one episode and it's really easy for you. Oh, that is so true. And I think there's also this curiosity component that plays into it where you you see or you know this big actor like Meryl Streep and you're like, oh I'm just so curious what's she gonna do in Big Little Lies, how amazing will she be? And that really entices us to kind of, you know, put on that television screen and Big Little Lies a perfect example, think of how many big name actresses were on that show, how expensive that has to be for a company like HBO to put that together, but it gets herself talking about it and it drives subscribers to HBO's platform