Where there's a Will
Huge pay deals to keep sitcom on air
Will & Grace is to return for another series after producers agreed to give the stars pay rises of 50 per cent or more.
Protracted negotiations between America’s NBC network and the cast finally concluded on Friday, with a good deal for the actors even though the show has suffereda big slump in its ratings.
However the eighth season of 24 episodes will probably be the last, according to trade paper The Hollywood Reporter,
Each of the four key actors - Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally - will receive between $13 million and $15 million for the new series. It works out at $600,000 per episode – up from $400,000 an episode this year.
And for the first time since the series began in 1998, Mullally and Hayes – who play Karen and Jack - will be paid the same as McCormack and Messing (Will and Grace), the paper says.
The pay deal is thought to be worthwhile because of the series’ success in syndication to cable stations.
Published: 25 Apr 2005
