Profit From Reruns: $40 Million So Far
Playing Frasier’s brother Niles, many people thought that Pierce was Grammer’s actual brother, but the similarity is just coincidental. When David Hyde Pierce appeared on the “Katie Couric Show”, he praised the entire talented cast, as well as the writing. It was seen as one of the smartest shows on television (and still could be, if we’re being honest).
Pierce has earned around forty million dollars total since the show went off the air, and won four Emmys for his supporting role. He also voiced Cecil Terwilliger, the brother of Kelsey Grammer’s character Sideshow Bob on “The Simpsons” for a little bit of fun stunt casting.
Claire Foy: The Crown
Profit From Reruns: Nothing
"The Crown" is based on "The Audience", a play about members of the English Royal family from the 1940s. It begins with young (pre-coronation) Queen Elizabeth and continued to show the stresses and crises that plagued the late queen as she aged.
Claire Foy plays the young Queen Elizabeth II, and as the show isn't over yet, residuals aren't in the cards just yet. In addition, since "The Crown" is a Netflix production, reruns aren't going to happen. So far, Claire Foy hasn't earned any residuals, despite how popular the show is proving to be to audiences.
Lucille Ball: I Love Lucy
Profit From Reruns: $17 Million a Year
If you want to know the history of reruns – and actors and actresses earning money from them – then we have to go back to the fifties. Lucille Ball and her real-life husband Desi Arnaz starred in the legendary sitcom "I Love Lucy".
They not only pioneered the sitcom but even after their deaths they've been earning big. With only six seasons to draw from, their estates still earn around seventeen million dollars per year. They earned even more until 2018, since they, not any network, held the rights to their shows. In 2018, “Desilu” sold their company, which included "Star Trek", to CBS.
Seth MacFarlane: Family Guy
Profit From Reruns: $400,000 a Year
With eighteen seasons and still counting, "Family Guy" is an animated long-runner that is the brainchild of comedian Seth MacFarlane. It's the second-longest-running animated comedy on television, topped only by "The Simpsons".
With the obscene popularity of "Family Guy reruns", MacFarlane could be raking in the millions every year, but he actually only gets a max of four hundred thousand dollars a year. However, since he's also the show's creator and producer, MacFarlane earns a lot more. The show is rumored to be worth more than two billion dollars – all of the voice actors got a big raise in 2013.
Jennifer Aniston: Friends
Profit From Reruns: $20 Million a Year
Out of the cast of Friends, Aniston is the biggest name to come out of the show. She has found huge success in movies, other television shows, and as a paparazzi favorite. She's amassed almost a quarter of a billion dollars thanks to her roles.
Just like her friends Schwimmer and LeBlanc, she still makes plenty from "Friends" reruns and streams. Even if Aniston suddenly stops getting roles (fat chance) she can expect twenty million dollars a year from residuals. Nothing to sneeze at, even if you are on a break.