Entering into its 23rd season, the long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons may be heading off into the sunset.
is reporting that Fox studio execs have reached a contract negotiation imasse with the six principal actors who make up the main cast of the show. Of course, this is not the first time this has come up. There has been the occasional threat to replace the cast with sound-alikes during contract talks over the years, but this time is a little different.
This time, Fox execs have told the cast that if they do not accept a 45% pay cut, the series will conclude its first-run status this spring.
“Fox is taking the position that unless they can cut the production costs really drastically, they’ll pull the plug on new shows,” said a Simpsons insider with knowledge of the negotiations. “The show has made billions in profits over the years and will continue to do so as far as the eye can see down the road. The actors are willing to take a pay cut of roughly a third, but that’s not good enough for Fox.”
Of course, even with the pay cut, the actors would still be making about $4 million a piece, for 22 weeks work, which isn’t too terrible at all. Currently, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright and Harry Shearer are making north of $8 million annually.
However, they have long demanded a part of the back-end rights to the show, both off syndication and marketing, which has netted billions in profits over the show’s 23 seasons, and will continue into the billions as the show is syndicated for years to come.
It seems as if Fox is refusing to budge, having rejected the actors’ counter-proposal late Monday night, taking a 30 percent pay cut in exchange for a percentage of those back-end rights. So if that’s the case, viewers may be watching The Simpsons’ last hurrah.
What do you think? Is it time for The Simpsons to wrap it up? Maybe Bart can finally graduate 4th grade? Looks like we’ve got a few months left to find out for sure!
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