Most people would at least acknowledge--ever if somewhat begrudgingly--that the core Big Bang Theory cast made up of its most popular stars, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, and Jim Parsons, deserve their reported $1 million raise after carving out a Friends sized sitcom reputation in a world with over 200 different channel choices. According to the latest gossip news updates, however, some of their less famous and fortunate costars are more than just a little miffed at the incredibly skewed differences in pay. Spoilers: Word has it that Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, who renewed their contracts in an earlier round of negotiations, are up in arms and almost ready to quit at what they see as an obvious insult and a ridiculous disparity in pay for essentially doing the same job.
The internet is ablaze with reports that the rumored million dollar pay raise that Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons and Jim Galecki were shooting for wasn't a rumor at all.
Even the highly esteemed Forbes magazine has repeated the news in a recent report suggesting that it must be based on somewhat objective reality:
"After prolonged negotiations with Warner Bros., Big Bang stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco have locked in new three-year contracts--said to be worth $1 million per episode.
"The raise will likely boost Cuoco's ranks on the list of top-earning TV actors.
"Last year, she out-earned her two co-stars thanks to film work and a contract with Toyota."
While that would, at first, seem like good news to the Big Bang trio and fans of the show alike, it appears that that may not entirely be the case.
If the reports that Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar are really ready to walk away from the show in light of their respectively minuscule salaries are true, than the show won't be continuing on in the same way for which it has become known and loved.
According to a supposed insider, who spoke to Star Magazine for their August 18, issue, claims that Si and Kunal think that getting 17 times less money--at $75K an episode--is absolutely unacceptable:
"That just doesn't sit well with anyone.
"It has created a major rift between them and costars Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, who also feel they're an integral part of the show.
"[But] Kaley, Jim and Johnny believe they're the real stars of the show and deserve the money."
The secret source blames their everyman for himself battle tactics for the huge gap in pay from one cast member to the next:
"Instead of negotiating as a unit, like the casts of Friends or Seinfeld, they've defected into different camps, and now they're at each other's throats.
"This isn't the kind of Big Bang producers had in mind!"
At some point it has to be cheaper just to pay people to watch.
