The NBC hit has won four Emmys and is nominated for six more trophies in 2021. The heartwarming and heart-wrenching story of the Pearson family — which is told from different time periods in their life — has captivated audiences since its 2016 premiere.
While the actors behind the Pearson family all started out with different salaries, they have since come to an agreement with the network to receive the same amount of money per episode.
According to Variety, Ventimiglia and Moore came in at a higher per episode base with $85,000 each in season 1, while the newer faces on the show, including Metz started much lower.
In August 2017, the outlet reported that the show’s leading five stars received a $250,000 cash bonus from NBC and 20th Century Fox TV in recognition of the series’ first season success. The show earned 10 Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nods after season 1.
The following year, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Gilmore Girls alum was making $115,000 per episode during season 2 before the core five stars agreed to a per-episode salary jump. At the time, the outlet reported that Hartley was making $75,000 per episode while Metz was at $40,000.
According to THR, the cast agreed to $250,000 per episode starting with season 3 in 2018, once their respective signing bonuses were added in. The increase meant that each actor had the potential to earn $4.5 million per season, assuming they appeared in all 18 episodes.
“The show changed all of our lives, so it’s hard to imagine … Like, ‘Where do you go from here?’” Moore told Deadline in May 2021. “Just simply, selfishly, as an actor, I’m like, ‘There will never, ever be a job like this, ever again.’ It’s just like a dream upon a dream, upon a dream, and it’s a once-in-a-career job.”
Later that year, the cast sought pay parity once again, pushing for Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan and Jon Huertas to get equal compensation in November 2021, just ahead of the final season’s debut.
Deadline reported at the time that This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman stepped in to support the cast, and 20th Century Television and NBC eventually agreed to a $2 million cash bonus for each of the seven original cast members, which included Watson and Sullivan, writes usmagazine.
