If you thought the crazy paydays would be over for the cast of The Big Bang Theory when they wrapped their final season on the show, it looks like you might have been wrong. According to a new report, at least some of the cast is on tap to receive around $10 million a year just from reruns once the show ends. We all already knew those folks had a solid gig, but I guess we really had no idea, did we?
So, how is it possible for members of The Big Bang Theory cast to still get that much money a year just from the reruns that air? This isn't a simple case of the cast getting residuals for their past work on the show as it continues to air in repeats across the world year in and year out (although I'm sure that will also be true). Metro reports that among the leading cast members, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons each own shares of The Big Bang Theory's total yearly earnings for Warner Bros. which amounts to 1% for each of them. The show, which, if you hadn't noticed already, airs pretty much every day several times a day on many different channels, brings in roughly...wait for this number...$1 billion every year.
If your math is iffy, I did check, and 1% of $1 billion will leave Cuoco, Galecki and Parsons with a sweet $10 million each just for sitting back and watching reruns of their own show. Nice work if you can get it.
It's no secret that the core stars of The Big Bang Theory, which started with Cuoco, Parsons, Galecki, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg, have representation behind each of them that knows how to make sure their hard work for the popular sitcom is shown in dollar signs. For the past two years, the geek quad of The Big Bang Theory has topped the list of highest paid actors on TV. Last year, Parsons topped the list with $26.5 million, Galecki hit the second spot with $25 million and Helberg and Nayyar tied for third position with $23.5 million. Kaley Cuoco has been no slouch, either, coming in as the second highest paid actress on television in 2018 with $24.5 million.
These numbers went up from 2016, despite the fact that Parsons, Cuoco, Galecki, Nayyar and Helberg all agreed to slash their salaries in 2017 so that Melissa Rouch and Mayim Bialik could get raises that saw them tie at number six on the top paid TV actresses list last year, with $12 million each. Metro doesn't specify whether or not anyone in the cast besides Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki share in the profits from The Big Bang Theory to any degree, but seeing as how each member of the cast has been very important to the overall story of the show for many seasons by now, I would be surprised if Helberg, Rauch, Nayyar and Bialik have been totally left in the cold.
While it's become quite obvious in the past few months that the cast will miss working on The Big Bang Theory in many ways, it's also clear that they'll at least be able to comfort themselves with wads of cash most of us couldn't even dream of. The Big Bang Theory continues its final season on CBS when it returns from winter hiatus on January 3 at 8 p.m. EST.
