NBC
“Friends” made six talented sitcom actors very, very rich. For 10 whole seasons, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry – who died at age 54 in 2023 — were the tight-knit group of the NBC sitcom, and earned a pretty penny for the gig. At the late-game heights of the show’s powers, the cast of “Friends” got paid as much as $1 million per episode each.
Here’s the thing, though: the money didn’t stop coming after the show ended in 2004. In fact, as of 2015, the syndicated sitcom continued to rake in an estimated $1 billion annually, which in turn may have continued to earn each of the six stars as much as $20 million per year in residual payments. Though unconfirmed by either Warner Bros. or the actors, this figure most recently turned up in the wake of Perry’s passing, and since “Friends” has remained a popular and surprisingly relevant show, it does make sense that the residuals continue to be hefty. Even if they aren’t as massive as $20 million a year, let’s be honest: even a fraction of that sum would be gangbusters money for a job that ended two decades ago.
Friends has proved its longevity many times over
NBC
The secret sauce of “Friends” and its longevity is simple, really. The show resonates with the viewers, and while it was never the kind of critical darling “Seinfeld” was, it did receive consistent good reviews. Thanks to its copious reruns, it has remained accessible over the years. It doesn’t hurt that “Friends” is a great go-to sitcom comfort show during difficult times, and has been able to turn its significant pop culture presence into an enduring popularity. This makes the show an absolute workhorse that any platform would no doubt love to have.
Just look at the way the show has performed during the streaming era. “Friends” continued to be there for you on Netflix when the platform first licensed the show for $30 million a year. In 2019, it agreed to bump the fee to $100 million before the streaming wars separated the show and the U.S. leg of Netflix in January 2020. “Friends” moved to HBO Max (now just Max), and soon became its top dog.
The show even managed to hit a fresh bullseye with 2021’s unscripted “Friends: The Reunion” special, a predictably huge hit that was watched by 29% of all streaming households in the U.S. on the day it dropped, May 27. It also earned each of the six cast members a cool $2.5 million, minimum. It may not always be easy to play a main character on a classic sitcom, but it certainly is lucrative … and seems to remain that way long after the show is over.