Profit From Reruns: Nothing
Who doesn’t know and love “The Brady Bunch”? Even if it was off the air decades before you came into the world, you probably know this classic sitcom as the show that broke the mold and provided tons of fun. It turned pretty much every actor or actress into a star…yet as Maureen McCormick tells us, the cast doesn’t get a single penny from residuals.
The clauses that deny them are airtight, and they haven’t been able to renegotiate. Other than small fees if clips from the movies are used, the cast isn’t entitled to anything. Make sure you read your contracts, folks.
Bob Saget: Full House
Profit From Reruns: $2,000 a Year
For his role as Danny Tanner on "Full House", Saget has said that he earned anywhere from two dollars to two thousand dollars per episode. You may be surprised to find out that this show hasn't been all that profitable for Saget, earning him only about two thousand a year. To most actors, that's nothing. His role on the Netflix adaptation/sequel series "Fuller House" earned him more.
Despite the fact that "Full House" ran for eight seasons, and "Fuller House" only ran for five, the latter was a lot more profitable for Saget. Sadly, in January 2022, Bob Saget passed away, leaving the house less fuller, and more empty.
Jerry Orbach: Law & Order
Profit From Reruns: Unknown
Spinoffs of the "Law & Order" series continue to grace our screens to this day, but the original show ended more than a decade ago. Jerry Orbach took an interesting negotiating tactic when it came to residual payments: six percent of his original salary for the episode, every time the episode aired.
With twenty seasons of episodes to call upon, it might not seem like a lot. Also, apparently, it takes checks between nine and eighteen months to reach him after an episode airs. Still, he's going to have a steady cash flow until even the reruns are off the air – probably long in the future.
Stephen Amell: Arrow
Profit From Reruns: $100,000 So Far
Superheroes have made big leaps in the last decade with DC and Marvel movies, as well as television shows based on the comic book entities. Stephen Amell plays Arrow, the first of the DC Comics origin story shows. It shares the “Arrowverse” with "The Flash" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow".
The show is still running, and even now Stephen Amell earns thousands from reruns, as well as being paid for every episode he films. Right now totals are hard to find, but it looks like at least a hundred thousand, and that's before the show is even done!
Bob Denver: Gilligan's Island
Profit From Reruns: $100 Million in Total
When a three-hour tour turns into three years on a deserted island, audiences tuned in for every new episode, loving every minute. With surprisingly clean humor and hilarious antics, Bob Denver shined as the title character on the show, and "Gilligan's Island" is still appearing on televisions despite the run ending in the late sixties.
Thanks to these reruns, the show has earned almost a hundred million dollars in residuals. It kept all of the actors, including Bob Denver, sitting pretty for decades. Denver sadly passed away in 2005 from complications following throat cancer surgery, but until then he enjoyed his status as a high-earner.