'Modern Family' cast still without contract renewals
Published Jul 22 2012, 16:04 BST | By Zeba Blay
Six cast members of ABC's Modern Family have yet to renew their contracts for the show, it has been revealed.Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson are reportedly in negotiations with ABC concerning their fees for the hit comedy.
© ABC
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the stars are demanding $200,000 (£128,000) per episode, as well as raises for future seasons of the show.
A table read for a new season of the series is scheduled for Tuesday (July 24), though according to sources, the actors may not attend if their demands are not met.
Representatives for the actors are due to meet with executives on Monday to discuss the new contracts.
It is unclear whether former Married... with Children star Ed O'Neill is also negotiating with his castmates, as he already makes significantly more money then them.
Vergara, who plays his wife in the series, was recently named the highest-paid actress in television by Forbes magazine.
The actors are reportedly using the show's recent 14 Emmy nominations to support their demands for a raise.
Considering the Friends cast were getting $1 million an episode about ten years ago, is $200,000 really all that much by today's standards?
July 22nd 2012 at 9:09pm
Friends had just 6 main and this has 10. TV is so diluted compaired to a decade ago aswell which explains why demands are not that high really.
July 22nd 2012 at 9:53pm
Friends was a multi-camera format, modern family is single camera, which is more expensive to shoot.
Plus, the cast of friends were only paid £1million per episode in the ninth and tenth season. By the fourth season they were being paid something like half what the modern family cast is asking. Given that production is more expensive for modern family, and that, even though it's a big hit, modern family doesn't have much more than half the viewers friends did at it's peak, I think £200,000 is a lot to ask this early in the show's run (relatively)
July 23rd 2012 at 12:13am
Why is single camera more expensive?. You would think with less it would be cheaper
July 23rd 2012 at 1:47am
It takes more time to shoot with one camera. You have to shoot the same scene from multiple angles.
July 23rd 2012 at 11:56am
well of course Friends had higher ratings in it's 1st to 4th seasons, it was 1994-98, more people watched TV then, at the moment Modern Family is America's Favourite Comedy, along with Big Bang Theory
July 23rd 2012 at 5:11pm
The show couldn't continue without any of the main 10 cast
July 22nd 2012 at 7:28pm
And they know it hence the wage demand
July 23rd 2012 at 1:48am
The Modern Family actors are not "without contracts". They are trying to renegotiate their current deals which isn't uncommon when the series is a hit. Don't know if they'll get $200,000 each, which is more than double their current contracted salaries, but considering the immense popularity of the show and the fact that they are all bargaining together, they should get substantial raises.
July 22nd 2012 at 7:24pm
They deserve it.
July 22nd 2012 at 7:23pm
I don't understand why they are not already under contract. Standard television contracts are usually 5 seasons, and often with a 1 season 'option' on top of that. There's only been 3 seasons of Modern Family so far.
July 22nd 2012 at 4:30pm