You would like to think that the most popular comedy series on TV — with a high profile and no shortage of cash — would have make equal pay a priority. But that doesn’t seem to be the case for CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory.” Variety reports that “Big Bang’s” Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch are seeking pay parity before re-upping their contracts for two more seasons.
According to the source, “Bialik and Rauch both joined ‘Big Bang’ in Season 3 and thus have to date earned significantly less than their co-stars. Both actresses are in the $200,000 per episode range this season, the show’s 10th, compared to $1 million per episode for the original five.”
The original cast — Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar, and Simon Helberg — have “agreed to take a $100,000 cut in salary for the prospective 11th and 12th seasons to free up $500,000 to fund raises for Bialik and Rauch,” Variety writes. “If Bialik and Rauch split the $500,000 from their co-stars, both would rise to nearly $450,000 an episode, or more than $21 million for the two-year, 48-episode deal. The question now is whether the two will hold firm for parity, or at least closer to parity.”
This isn’t the first contract dispute behind-the-scenes at the long-running sitcom. Variety notes that Nayyar and Helberg held out for parity with Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco during the last round of contract negotiations. The source also reports that “the timing for Bialik and Rauch to reach the high six-figure threshold is not as optimum as it was three years ago for Helberg and Nayyar,” citing the slowing syndication revenue, licensing terms for re-runs and SVOD, Time Warner’s potential merger with AT&T, and CBS’ license fee.
The license fee “no longer covers all production costs, as it did in earlier seasons,” Variety explains. “[It] is believed to be in the $6 million-$7 million range under the new deal. The salaries of the five original actors alone take up $5 million of that fee.”
The source concludes, “As successful as ‘Big Bang’ has been for the studio, the new episodes won’t yield the kind of windfall for the studio that might otherwise grease the wheels for dealmaking.”
Once again, we are forced to call bullshit.
Let’s just disregard that CBS’ reasons for being cash-strapped are the epitome of First World Problems. The fact of the matter is that paying women less will always be a money-saver (that’s how math works), but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. There will always be reasons to deny someone better pay, but they only seem to be trotted out when studios need to explain why women and people of color aren’t getting the compensation they deserve. CBS might not be in the best position to increase anyone’s paycheck, but we are positive that they’d find the money with no problem if Galecki and Parsons were in Bialik and Rauch’s position.
Luckily, it appears CBS is aware of the hypocrisy. Variety reports that “there is optimism at both the studio and the network that a deal will get done.”
Bialik and Rauch portray Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette Rostenkowski, respectively, on “Big Bang.” Bialik has earned four consecutive Emmy nominations for the role. Rauch played a bitter, entitled gymnastics diva in 2015’s “The Bronze,” a film she also co-wrote.
Bialik and Rauch are the latest high-profile actresses going public about their experiences with the gender pay gap. Natalie Portman told Marie Claire UK that she made a third of Ashton Kutcher’s pay on “No Strings Attached.” Emmy Rossum, the main character of “Shameless,” demanded a raise in December. She and the rest of the cast had been paid less than co-star William H. Macy from the get-go. In May Robin Wright revealed her fight for better pay on “House of Cards.” “Claire Underwood’s character was more popular than [Frank’s] for a period of time,” she said. “So I capitalized on it. I was like, ‘You better pay me or I’m going to go public.’ And they did.”
