Monday February 04 08:38 PM EST
Will NBC Keep Its "Friends"?
Good friends are hard to find. Maybe that's why NBC is so reluctant to let its Friends leave so soon.
Representatives for the stars of the Peacock's hit series have begun "formal talks" with both the network and Warner Bros., the show's producer, about whether or not the top-rated sitcom will continue next fall, Daily Variety reports.
NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker has made it clear that Friends's return is high priority, but today the network had no comment on the negotiation reports. Neither did Warner Bros. The general feeling around Hollywood is that there is only a 50-50 chance Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry will agree to comeback for a ninth season. But obviously if there was no interest at all in continuing, it's unlikely the sextet would have given their management team, Brillstein-Gray, and assorted lawyers the go-ahead to start discussions.
Money is, of course, the prime issue, as it has been in the past. The now-famous cast, who were virtually unknown when the series first aired, have achieved their huge salaries by presenting a united front in bargaining talks. Each is now pulling in $750,000 per episode for a season of 22-24 shows. USA Today recently reported the six actors joined forces to turn down a raise to $800,000 per episode last month, which means their salaries will probably need to be bumped up to an even $1 million per show (or more) to get them to come back. That would put them in the company of the tube's highest-paid sitcom stars, Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano and David Hyde Pierce, all of whom make $1 million or more per episode.
The negotiations are two-tiered, involving Warners' payment to the stars and then NBC's payment to the producer. Currently NBC pays Warners a per-episode license fee of $5.5 million. It will need to be hiked considerably if the salaries climb.
With NBC having no programs able to replace Friends' ratings-leading 23 million average viewers and the show enjoying renewed critical praise--and that baby arriving in May sweeps--the show's stars seem to be in a strong position to get what they want. If they really want it.
Any deals will need to be finalized by May, when the network must unveil its fall schedule to advertisers.
The future of Rachel and Ross, Monica and Chandler, Joey and Phoebe is not the only iffy matter at NBC right now.
Rumors continue that NBC West Coast president Scott Sassa may soon split from the Peacock despite having reupped his contract last fall. The New York Post on Saturday reported he would be gone by June, however, the tabloid has been predicting his immediate exit since as far back as June 2000. Sassa remains mum on the subject and NBC declined to comment.
Since the arrival a year ago of the more media-friendly Zucker, Sassa has kept an even lower profile. Sassa prefers to leave the spotlight to his division chiefs, including Zucker, whose programming picks this fall range from the successful Scrubs to the bam-you're-gone Emeril. Sassa, however, still heads up business negotiations, which means he's front and center in the Friends discussions, as well as the deal to keep Late Night host Conan O'Brien (news - Y! TV).
Even if he's planning to bolt after three-plus years at the network, it's likely he'll try to pull off those renewals before packing his bags.