How Much Did The Cast Of 'Friends' Make During Season 1?
Drawing in 20 million and more, 'Friends' was unstoppable during its ten-year run. As time went along, so did their wages. By season nine and ten, the cast made a whopping $1 million per episode, which was unheard of at the time. Although Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer could have commanded the biggest salaries, they felt it necessary for the pays to stay the same amongst the entire cast.
Years later, Matt LeBlanc chimed in, making mention that the number was warranted, given the show's success, "I’ve been asked this question before, but phrased as, do I think we were worth it? Were we worth $1 million? To me, that’s such a strange question," LeBlanc told The Huffington Post. It’s like, well, that’s irrelevant. Are you worth it? How do you put a price on how funny something is? We were in a position to get it. If you’re in a position in any job, no matter what the job is — if you’re driving a milk truck or installing TVs or an upholsterer for a couch — if you’re in a position to get a raise and you don’t get it, you’re stupid. You know what I mean? We were in a position and we were able to pull it off. 'Worth it' has nothing to do with it."
Courteney Cox also agreed, it was vital the cast got paid the same, and nobody was left out, "I feel like there was a thing where they could pick us up and only take four of us. It could have been an ugly situation, which we all stood by each other. It was everything. Any other way, it would have been too many hard feelings, too uncomfortable. It would just have been horrible."
The demands were met - but of course, this didn't happen overnight. In fact, it was a steady rise, which started from the very bottom during season 1.
Starting From The Bottom
The cast of 'Friends' started to reach the six-figure range around the hallway mark, during the fifth season. However, prior to that, they started off with a very modest salary.
During the first season, the cast made $22,500. They saw a bring raise during season 3, according to Business Insider, when the cast made $75,000 each. Even at the $22,500 mark, some of the cast members were loving it. Matthew Perry admits to being broke at the time and looking for any type of gig to pay the bills. Early on, he was struggling to maintain a position until the sitcom came around.
Ultimately, after the first two seasons, it was evident the show was going to be a monster hit. From that point on, the cast saw dramatic pay increases each season. From season 6 to 7 was the biggest spike, as the cast went from $125K to $750K. Yes, the sitcom made the cast and those involved very rich and they can still feel the impact of it to this very day.
Sources: Yard Baker & Business Insider
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