Could an extra £200,000 each an episode be enough to tempt the Friends out of retirement?
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Your support makes all the difference.Officially, the smash-hit television comedy Friends is in its last season. It has been going for nine years, is generally deemed to be past its best, creatively speaking, and is inexorably beginning to obey the economic laws of diminishing returns because of the dizzy salaries commanded by its six principal actors.
Officially, the smash-hit television comedy Friends is in its last season. It has been going for nine years, is generally deemed to be past its best, creatively speaking, and is inexorably beginning to obey the economic laws of diminishing returns because of the dizzy salaries commanded by its six principal actors.
But nobody in the entertainment business truly believes this year can really be the end – especially after reports surfaced yesterday that NBC, its broadcaster, was willing to stump up an extra £200,000 per episode for each of its six stars.
Now speculation is rife about a 10th season – speculation that includes gossip about salary increases, celebrity cameos and every other trick the networks like to pull to keep a popular show going well past its sell-by date. "It's going to come back," an unnamed network chief was quoted as telling the industry newspaper Variety recently. "There's going to be too much money involved for everybody to walk away now. NBC's going to milk this being the final season for all it's worth, and lo and behold, it will be renewed for another year."
It makes sense for NBC. Friends reigns supreme on Thursday nights and an impressive 30 million people in the United States watched the opening episode of the season a few weeks ago. And then there was the success of Friends at the Emmy awards last month, where it took the prize for best comedy for the first time, along with top acting honours for Jennifer Aniston.
"The Emmy validates what they're doing," another television executive told Variety. "The cast all realises what a great gig this is. They work 3 days a week, they're working with their best friends, and they're making an ungodly amount of money. As long as the stories are rich and funny, why not come back?"
Why not? The biggest sticking point is almost certainly going to be the money. The network's outlay for the season is already $100m, and rumours have been swirling that the stars want to go up from £750,000 to $1m per episode. Others rumours suggest Ms Aniston wants out to pursue her burgeoning film career, which is rapidly eclipsing that of her fellow cast members.
Ms Aniston might need even more than $1m to persuade her otherwise.
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