Free-to-air series from the United States previously dominated television and cultural conversations. It is now considered a miracle that the series was able to gather more than 5 million viewers in its live broadcast. These smaller audiences compared to the recent past inevitably impact advertising revenues for channels, which have to tighten their belts if they want to continue producing imagination in a panorama dominated by streaming and on-demand consumption.
The most successful series such as Gray’s Anatomyseries chicago And those of FBI They are also hurting: As their costs become more expensive due to their seniority, producers must find a way to implement discounts so that they are applicable to channels, even assuming that a portion of their subsequent consumption will be in their own platforms’ catalogs. . What measures do they take to rescue? Reducing the number of episodes in which the main characters appear.
It reduces the number of episodes in which the main characters appear.
It’s a resource that became popular last season when the series aired Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Law & Order And Law & Order: Special Victims Unit They had to renegotiate talent contracts for the current season: the actors discovered that while their per-episode salaries were maintained, the new contracts did not contemplate their appearances in all season installments.
Now that studios are planning budgets for the 2024-2025 season, the move is being rolled out to more free-TV standard-bearers. Gray’s AnatomyFor example, it has already announced the withdrawal of Jake Borelli and Midori Francis, and given the contract negotiations for the rest of the paid cast, a decrease in guaranteed episodes per season is expected.
No one would be surprised if Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) or Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), the top and highest-paid man behind Ellen Pompeo, disappears for a few chapters. They will continue to produce while maintaining their salaries per episode (or with improvements, depending on each negotiation) but without the guarantee of getting work for the entire season.
If someone saw Caterina Scorsone, Chandra Wilson, or Kevin McKidd disappear for a few episodes, they already know why.
The same thing will happen in FBI And FBI: Most Wanted. According to Deadline, CBS plans to cut the services of regular actors for at least two episodes of next season. This measure has economic consequences, as mentioned, but also creative consequences: it will force screenwriters to plan plots taking into account that the characters will have to be away from the TV for a few weeks.
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