When you're on one of the biggest hits on network TV, you're bound to be rewarded for your troubles. This is very true for the cast of Ryan Murphy's hit Fox series, 9-1-1. It's being reported by "Deadline" that the cast is getting major pay bumps ahead of season 5 and Angela Bassett is leading the way with a deal that some say is the biggest payday for an actress of color on a drama series.
Bassett's raise is said to take her north of $450,000 an episode. It is believed to be among the top salaries on network television for any actor, male or female, and could be the highest ever for an actress of color on a broadcast drama series. Bassett's pay makes even more sense because she actually has a stake in the 9-1-1 brand. She's an executive producer on the series as well as on its spinoff, 9-1-1: Lone Star. Ryan Murphy also created the show around Bassett and she has been involved with the show's development since the beginning.
9-1-1‘s male lead, Peter Krause, after a 25% raise, will receive the second biggest check on the show, believed to be in the low $300,000 per episode range. He is followed by Jennifer Love Hewitt, who joined the series in Season 2. She succeeded Connie Britton who shared top billing with Bassett and Krause in Season 1 after only signing a one-year deal.
The rest of the cast, including original cast members Aisha Hinds, Rockmond Dunbar, Kenneth Choi, and Oliver Stark, as well as Ryan Guzman, who joined in Season 2, are believed to be all getting a 25% raise to about $80,000 an episode next season and are projected to go up to $100,000 an episode in Season 6. Negotiations were very lengthy and, in the case of Hinds, Dunbar, and Choi, they went down to the wire, with Choi closing his deal last, after production on Season 5 had already started. Oliver Stark, who started with a much lower episodic fee than his co-stars because the young actor had far fewer credits to his name when he was cast in the pilot than Hinds, Dunbar, and Choi, was the only original supporting cast member to receive a raise last year. His salary was almost doubled to get to the range of the other three. Stark also got a 25% pay increase this year to maintain parity with Hinds, Dunbar, Choi as well as Guzman, who is also at the same level despite starting a year later.
9-1-1 was a hit out of the gate for Fox when it premiered in 2018. The show, which follows the lives of Los Angeles first responders that include police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and dispatchers, has maintained solid ratings across four seasons, averaging between 9.6-10.7 million viewers and excelling in the coveted 18-49 demo between a 1.7-3.0 since beginning its run. A spinoff of the series called 9-1-1: Lone Star, starring Rob Lowe, premiered in January of 2020 and has also proven to be a hit as it heads into its third season.
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