The Big Bang Theory is a popular American sitcom television series that centers around five friends living together. The show enabled its lead actors to earn millions of dollars, turning them into very capable and successful actors. Apart from Jim Parsons, actors like Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki also earned more than $21.6 million, owing to the success of the show.
According to reports, Kaley Cuoco also took a massive pay cut so that her friend and co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch could get a massive raise from $200,000 per episode to $450,000 per episode. The Big Bang Theory was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms on television.
Also read: Why The Big Bang Theory Is WORSE Than You Remember (VIDEO)
2 The Big Bang Theory Stars Made the Big Bucks After Jim Parsons
After Jim Parsons departed the program in 2019, Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki, who played Penny and Leonard on the show, made $24.5 and $26.5 million respectively. Parsons earned $1M every episode, making him the highest-paid performer on the program. However, his departure caused a significant hole in the budget.
Even still, CBS was prepared to spend a lot of money to retain Cuoco and Galecki on the program for its final season. Cuoco and Galecki received a raise for the final season to make up for the loss of Parsons, even though they had already been making $1 million per episode for several seasons before his departure.
The Big Bang Theory‘s success and Cuoco and Galecki’s popularity are evidenced by their wealth. During its run, the program was one of the most-watched sitcoms on television, and it is still a hit in syndication. It’s hardly surprising that both of them were able to negotiate such substantial pay for the show’s last season.
Kaley Cuoco Took a Substantial Pay Cut for Melissa Rauch
According to The Things, during the contract talks for The Big Bang Theory‘s last two seasons, Kaley Cuoco agreed to a significant wage drop for Melissa Rauch. Cuoco was one of the highest-paid television performers at the time, making $1 million every episode. Contrarily, Rauch was being paid only $200,000 every episode.
In exchange for taking a $100,000 salary reduction every episode, Cuoco and the other male cast members made $500,000 per episode available to raise Rauch and Mayim Bialik’s wages. As a result, Rauch’s pay rose to $450,000 per episode, which was a sizable raise but still less than Cuoco’s.
Cuoco and the other male cast members have been thanked by Rauch for accepting wage reductions on her behalf. It was admirable of Cuoco to forego a wage raise to support her co-star and friend. She demonstrated her commitment to pay equity and her appreciation for her co-star’s efforts in the program by doing so.
