It’s good to be Don Draper. I’m not talking about the Mad Men character’s life, although that’s a pretty exciting ride, most episodes, but instead about the life of today’s series regular, which is totally different from the restrictive actor life series regulars faced even a decade ago.
Actors used to sign on as series regulars on network shows knowing they were going to be prevented from appearing as guest stars on other shows, permitted to do press only when cleared by the network publicists, and given the opportunity to do feature films if the shoot dates took place during hiatus and the character wouldn’t jeopardize the branding the network needed the actor to maintain, for the health of the show. The actors could do commercials only if the network’s parent company didn’t see a conflict, and often times the commercials could only run in international markets or while the show was in reruns. Of course, if the network’s parent company saw an endorsement opportunity for a product it owned, that would be fair game. Much of this was a holdover from the days when a show’s star would — on commercial break — light up a cigarette from the brand that sponsored his show, and talk straight to camera about how refreshing each puff felt.
Today — thanks to cable series, long hiatus periods, networks’ and cable channels’ shared parent companies, the Internet, and near-instant syndication — being a series regular holds very few of those old restrictions. Actors we’re used to seeing lead one series pop up as guest stars on other series — and on other series airing on competing networks, which was a huge no-no just a few years ago — more than just now and then, these days. Actors in ensemble casts of series that are still airing but have finished shooting already have pilots that have been picked up for our Fall TV season… on totally different networks.
Perhaps because actors are being paid less as series regulars, proportionately, than they were in years past, the suits are allowing for more “off day” activity, to supplement their income. Perhaps it’s because few viewers really keep up with which network airs their favorite shows (or at what time), thanks to TiVo and DVR and On-Demand viewing options. Because shows aren’t having to wait to hit the magical “100 episodes” mark to celebrate being sold into syndication anymore, execs know they’re going to be making tons of money on these shows (and on these stars) much earlier, potentially, and unless they want to pay the actors more (and earlier in their contracts), letting them have a little more room to play for others keeps everyone happy.
As we continue to watch the evolution of delivery methods, of timing of release (to syndication, to instant replay/rerun/VOD availability, and in terms of length of hiatus), of “baby network” piggy-backing of contracts for players (see NBC and Bravo for the most efficient and consistent use of this part of the business model, across networks), and of rates of pay for the top stars of television, consider carefully the kinds of deals you’ll want to be sure your team crafts for you, when you’re in this exciting position.
For the finest, most ninja-like deal in recent history, we have to look at Bethenny Frankel and her deal with Bravo, to do The Real Housewives of New York. Yeah, I know, I know. “That’s reality TV and who cares?” Well… as Bethenny counts her $120M for the beverage line deal alone (not to mention the book deals, the speaking tours, the forthcoming merch, plus negotiating producer money on her stack of shows for Bravo), I’d say other actors out there should care. Other actors? Sure. Bethenny worked as an actor before deciding to make cooking, and then reality TV, her playground. Shrewd business woman whose every move since doing Martha Stewart’s version of The Apprentice in 2005 has been choreographed to lead to this wealth and fame.
Good for her. She figured out how to make the Wild West work for her by agreeing to be a part of a show about housewives when she wasn’t even one, herself, as long as she could say the words “Skinny Girl Margarita” (and then develop the product on a series of spin-off shows) during an episode. So, what can we learn about how Don Draper’s got it better than Sam Malone did that could lead to being at the front of the next wave of a multi-million-dollar deal?
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001357.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.