'Modern Family' contract talks turn ugly
Five cast members sue the show's production studio
'Modern Family' contract talks turn ugly
David Hiltbrand, Inquirer TV Critic
So much for Family togetherness. The adult members of ABC’s smart comedy, Modern Family, have taken their contract dispute to the next level. Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ty Burrell, who have been negotiating together, are suing the show’s production studio, 20th Century Fox, to have their contracts voided.
The five actors have been seeking a substantial bump in salary, to $200,000 each per episode for the fourth season. Reportedly they earned $65,000 each for season three. The first table read for season four was cancelled today when talks reached an impasse.
Ed O’Neill is not involved in the suit. Already the highest paid actor in the cast, he too is negotiating for a raise.
The actors are signed through season seven and the studio offered them a contract that would have raised their salaries to $150,000 per episode this year, with annual raises built in if they agreed to sign a contract extension through season nine.
Instead the comic cast sued to have their deals voided entirely.
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The worst show on TV.— delcodanno- Great show n now let the greediness begin while nation's unemployment rate stands at almost 9% sheez!!!— jmmdk5
- who cares?— Scott Fisher
- I wonder what the basis of the lawsuit is. Is there some clause that permits them to get out if the show does substantially better than anticipated? I mean, after all, they wouldn't get paid at all if the show were cancelled, or do their contracts have guarantees?
This could be something this reporter could tell us.— HolidayinCambodia - I don't know, thumbing noses at $150,000 an episode seems slightly obnoxious. It is a good show and I imagine it brings a lot of ad revenue to ABC, but will $50,000 and episode really make a difference? They should negotiate for syndication royalties and they'd recoup that $50,000 very quickly.— Izzie
