Since the two Hollywood strikes began, we’ve been hearing countless stories from writers and actors about how they’ve really been screwed over by not being paid residuals for shows that are on streaming services. For instance, Mandy Moore showed off a teeny tiny residual check she got from “This Is Us” and despite a reported 18 billion streaming hours, the writers for “Suits” only made a couple of hundred dollars each. Well, add Aaron Paul to the list of people who aren’t getting the money owed to them. While on the picket lines with his “Breaking Bad” costars, including Bryan Cranston, Aaron, who won an Emmy for playing Jesse Pinkman, shared that he does not earn any residuals from the AMC series.
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul has revealed that he makes nothing from the smash hit show being on Netflix, despite its huge popularity on the streaming platform. While standing on the picket line alongside his co-stars Bryan Cranston and Jesse Plemons as part of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Paul stated that it is now time for streaming services such as Netflix to “pony up” and pay the talent properly. Check out what Paul had to say below:
“I don’t get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad to be totally honest and that’s insane to me. I think a lot of these streamers know that they have been getting away with not paying people a fair wage and now it’s time to pony up.”
As noted by The Independent, the cast of Breaking Bad reunited in a plea to Hollywood studios, requesting that they resume negotiations with striking actors. “We want you to come back to the table with us,” the Your Honor star stated while outside Sony Pictures Studios recently.
Cranston and Paul were joined by Jesse Plemons as well as other members of the Breaking Bad cast, in an attempt to invigorate others on the picket lines.
SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) first began their strike more than a month ago in July, joining the WGA (Writers Guild of America) who went on strike back in early May. Issues surrounding streaming services and the impact they’ve made on the production and compensation for those in the industry have been a main focus for both guilds.
The five season crime drama, Breaking Bad (which starred Cranston and Paul as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, respectively), aired from 2008 to 2013 and by its final season, the television series had become one of the most watched and highest rated cable shows ever. Still, despite its continued popularity on Netflix, Paul said that the show’s streaming success hasn’t resulted in any additional compensation for the El Camino star.
I shouldn’t be surprised at this point, but this one is absolutely wild to me because “Breaking Bad” was one of those shows that really benefited and picked up steam because of Netflix and visa versa. I remember catching up on “Breaking Bad” before the last season started thanks to the AMC marathons and Netflix on DVD. Ah, RIP to the #NetflixQueue (which I’ve now replaced with my Libby queue). But yeah, there are so many stories and each one gets more and more WTF. I really, really hope that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are successful in getting their terms met, so everyone who does the actual work on all of these properties that we stream over and over again can get the money that they rightfully deserve.
Aaron Paul revealed that he earns $0 in residuals from streaming despite BREAKING BAD doing constant numbers for streamers. "I don't get a piece from Netflix on BREAKING BAD to be totally honest and that's insane to me." #AMPTP pic.twitter.com/iqiz2yVy50
— Todd Spence (@Todd_Spence) September 4, 2023
Photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon and Getty
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