Tuesday, July 24, 2012

MODERN NEGOTIATIONS: Unsurprisingly, given that Modern Family is a massive hit with a syndication deal already in the works and an Emmy juggernaut, the six adult cast members are all holding out for more money.  The one interesting thing is that this is not a Friends scenario where all six are negotiating as a unit.  Five of the six are, but Ed O'Neill has apparently not joined, in part because he's already paid more for his services than the rest of the cast and expects that to continue.  (Warren Littlefield's Top of the Rock indicates that Schwimmer was originally higher paid than the other five Friends, but agreed to the "all for one, one for all" negotiating strategy that wound up getting them big money.)

Interestingly, I'd argue O'Neill may be the most easily expendable part of the show--I can easily see Jay dropping dead of a heart attack and the show continuing on largely as it was, while getting rid of any of the other characters makes things much more difficult.  Will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially with ABC's press tour day coming up on Friday.

8 comments:

  1. gretchen4:10 PM

    I actually don't think any of them are indispensable.  In some ways, having any of the adults drop off the show opens up some new possibilities. 

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  2. isaac_spaceman4:24 PM

    I just read something saying that O'Neill's contract is not on the same schedule as the rest of the cast, but that he is belatedly joining the suit as a sympathy move.  He may also have figured out what I think you are suggesting, which is that even if he compromises his best-paid-among-cast status in the short term, he could make more money in the long term and minimize employment risk by acting in concert with the entire cast. 

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  3. MidwestAndrew4:28 PM

    I've lost all interest in Modern Family. It's begun to pale so much compared to shows like Parks and Rec and Community, and even 30 Rock. It also isn't as funny as lesser shows like Archer or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There are a lot of times I find Suburgatory and The Middle better (Not to mention Cougar Town and Happy Endings). I just named nine shows in about 30 seconds that I'd rather watch than Modern Family. It was so good that first season, and now everyone has turned into a caricature.

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  4. I think Jay is crucial.   I never would have expected it from the guy who played Al Bundy, but he brings so much heart and goodwill to the whole enterprise that I have a hard to seeing myself enjoying it nearly as much without him. 

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  5. Lou W6:36 PM

    I agree.  I think Jay is the most realistic character in the show, and I'd argue he's the most critical.  In many episodes he's the point of contrast, he's the balancing agent, he's the pivot for the story.  I'd think the writers would struggle to make the show a sucess without him, more than any of the others. 

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  6. isaac_spaceman7:27 PM

    MA, we lost that battle.  Community is regularly among the lowest rated shows on TV, Cougar Town has been relegated to basic cable, where it will join Archer and It's Always Sunny as small-audience niche products, Happy Endings seems to be on extended probation, and NBC's big reveal at Press Tour was "we will not be making any more shows like P&R."  The ascendant network model is to stop trying to make shows that people can love and instead to focus all of the energy on shows that as many people as possible like at least enough to keep watching. 

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  7. Jim Bell10:15 AM

    I continued to watch Roseanne despite New Becky.

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  8. It would be great if they would kill off Claire.

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