Why would an actor or host get paid more than the producer?

Question:why would they not more return? there the ones who's investing in it so i would think they would want to see more money? i mean actors do have a high advertising value but I thinkt he writers and producers should generally get paid more
How do the producers on a tv show get paid?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: why would they not more return? there the ones who's investing in it so i would think they would want to see more money? i mean actors do have a high advertising value but I thinkt he writers and producers should generally get paid more
How do the producers on a tv show get paid?

If a high priced actor/host can bring in more fans and revenue than a cheap dime a dozen one, then return for producers is higher than it would have been. So the producers do get more money. TV producers get paid by either the network that buys the show, or if the show is produced by a network it is the advertismers who pay to have their ads play on the show (the amount payed for adspace will depend on the success of the show)

Actors and hosts are the ones that have the appeal to the audience. They are in the forefront whereas the producer is behind the scene. First of all how do you know producers don't make lots of money and also as far as some actors not being good looking, that has nothing to do with acting skills, audience appeal and ticket sales.

Producers are basically writers. They work their way up the ranks from intern to story editor to union script editor to producer to supervising producer to exectutive producer after 5 or 6 years.

Producers are generally hired on one or two year contracts.

Pay for producers is as low as $5,000 a week Writer's Guild union minimum for a staff writer who does other functions. And they get extra money if they write story or script in a given epsiode.

The head producer in a show, especially if they are the creator, gets up to about $1 million a year, plus they own a piece of the profits in the show, which may never happen.

Some producers are network or studio executives who get paid by the network or studio anywhere from $5,000 a week to $500,000 a year or more.

Now, in a TV series the main actors get signe to a 5 or 7 year contract. These days leading actors, the main stars, typically sign on anywhere from $10,000 to $35,000 a week. But they are expected to carry the show.

In a long running show like Friends each of the 6 stars was getting like $2 million a year and the head producers were getting close to $1 million each.

Your bread and butter actors, however, are not getting that much. Someone who just appears on the show, maybe a friend or family member or new boyfriend, they get as little as $3,000 and maybe as much as $20,000 for that one episode if they rate it.

Now remember the stars carry the show.

The producers just write, produce and go crazy once a week, every week.

But writers, who get paid $20,000-$25,000 to write a show on the outside may only write 2 or 3 shows a year.

Now a staff writer producer getting $10,000 a week for the 25 to 30 weeks the show runs is getting $250,000 to $300,000 a year

So you can be a freelancer and make $25,000 to $100,000 a year pitching ideas and getting rejected and not getting a job or YOU can work reguarly pitching ideas and getting rejected AND still getting $10,000 a week or even $5,000 a week which is still $150,000 a year.

Some writers sell a script every 2 years, so that's $20,000 every two years!

PLUS as a staff producer you work you way up and the NETWORKS automatically give you a shot at your own show because IT'S YOUR TURN

Now again, think carefully.

Imagine CSI, the original, without Grissom. Imagine if he left the show and their either replaced him or made Marg Hellgenberger the star.

What impact would it have on the ratings.

What if it slips and goes out of the top 10 and down to 12.

It suddenly LOOSES her star power. All of a sudden she's not in a possition to ask for more money!

Also it means she will NEVER get another show as LEAD STAR.

So if he leaves SHE has to keep that show at #1 or #2 each week to prove she's a good a leader as he was.

Him and Her are the main stars. They got the big bucks from day one and the others got like $15,000 or 25,000 an episode.

Only SUPER big producers get paid a lot.

Gene Roddenberry, Glen Larson, Steve Bochco, David Kelley, Donald Bellasario

These guys make the 1 and 2 million a year.

And they will make big money from the shows LONG after the actors residuals dwindle to $200 a year.

These guys own a piece of the action as well as a salary.

Now in MOST instances the Network or Studio picks up the lead actors heavy salaries, while the producers get paid by the production company.

And when a producer is out of work or off a show they are totally unemployed.

Sometimes they find a fast spot on another show as a consultant or something.

Getting $10,000 a week as consulting producer is better than getting $500 a week in unemployment.

Since producers negociate their positions starting in January and these don't firm until July, if a producer is OUT of a show because they ask for too much, they won't find another show immeidately.

They have to wait another year usually until the other shows look for new blood.

Or they go in as a CONSULTANT because all the other producers already got theri titles.

And you have to then look at what the producers job is.

Once a week they get together for story confrences and kick around idea and come up with a story for the show.

Then one of them takes on the job of writing the script or they job it out to an outside writer they like.

Then they run off and look at actors for the next show to shoot (casting sessions).

Then they re-write bad scripts.

Then they handle problems on the set.

Now the Execut runs the show. He is the boss. The Supervisors are from the studio or network and they have strong input.

The producers just do day to day grunt work.

The show is already set by the 5th week on the air.

They have a BIBLE and that dictates how an episode runs.

Producers simply handle problems.

They are trouble shooters.

The script is actually ironed out by 10 people with the Exec having final say on what goes in and waht doesn't

The producers suggest actors, call actors they know personally, suggest directors, call directors they knowpersonally, handle problems between actors, handle lost film at the lab, put fire under the writers to get the script done and take pitches from outside writers who want to do a script.