House star Hugh Laurie just signed a new deal with Fox that will pay him $400,000/episode (~$9M for the season). It has been a nice run for Laurie, considering he was only paid 'mid 5 figures' for the first season of Fox's hit show.It got me thinking about today's highest paid TV stars. I did some digging and the answer I got was a bit shocking to me-- Charlie Sheen ($825,000/episode for Two and a Half Men). William Peterson of CSI was 2nd at $600,000/episode. If Lauren Conrad were on the list, I would have cancelled my cable subscription.
Now...these are stats on a per episode basis. Oprah and Simon Cowell, for example, are paid on a seasonal basis and get a lot more. But, it's also interesting to note that the stars of Seinfeld, Friends, and Everybody Loves Raymond were paid more per episode when those shows were peaking. Reality TV rules these days.
Back to House...the show is entering its 5th season and seems to be pretty healthy. We checked with our friends at jumptheshark.com and things seem to be going well over at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. 7500 viewers are saying it never jumped. And, it was the 2nd highest rated scripted series last season (trailing only Desperate Housewives).I love the Gregory House character, and the witty scripts. But, the plot formula needs a bit more variety to keep me coming back for more. An ailment is misdiagnosed several times. Incorrect treatments cause a patient's condition to get increasingly worse until House miraculously saves the day at the end of the episode with the correct diagnosis, and while insulting everyone in his path. Can you mix in some curveballs, please?
Where does House rank on your watch list for the upcoming TV season?
"House" star Hugh Laurie Joins TV's Richest List [Yahoo TV]
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3 comments:
You gotta keep up with it if you think the plots haven't been beefed up, Katz. The end of last season, with "House's Brain, Wilson's Heart" have brought some of the most touching plot sequences I have ever seen on tv. Perhaps the show did begin to fall into that CSI-type format too frequently, but right now the characters are at their peak, as are the stories.
Sorry, that's "House's Head"...
And again, believe me, the beginning of this coming season involving the relationship between House and Wilson will be amazing. Robert Sean Leonard's performance as Wilson is almost as good as the one he plays as Neil in "Dead Poets Society." Almost.
Best show on tv: Wipeout.
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