While stars from Seinfeld, Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond continue to earn substantial residual payments, the financial reality for the cast of Saved By The Bell appears to be dramatically different.
Tiffani Thiessen recently said the residual checks from the popular 1990s sitcom had become so small that they were worth less than the expense of printing them. Her former co-star Mario Lopez publicly confirmed that her account was accurate.
“Real talk!” Lopez wrote in response to Thiessen’s comments at the time.
In a new interview with Our News Outlet, Lopez offered more insight into the cast’s post-series earnings, saying his residual payments from Saved By The Bell can sometimes be worth “less than the postage.”
“A lot of people think just ’cause you come out of TV and stuff, you’re set,” the actor told Our News Outlet earlier this month at The Alma Academy in Las Vegas. “That’s not always the case. Not everybody’s making that sort of Seinfeld, Friends-type money from that era.”
Addressing Thiessen’s remarks, Lopez, 53, said, “She wasn’t lying, I’ll tell you that! We always sort of laugh about it, so that’s why when they quoted her, I found it humorous because we always sort of laugh about it.”
Mario Lopez discussed the reality of his Saved By The Bell residual payments in an exclusive interview with Our News Outlet; pictured October 24
Lopez portrayed AC Slater on the series, which he credits with helping launch many future opportunities
Lopez said he was caught off guard when his response to Thiessen’s comments attracted widespread media attention. “I didn’t think it was going to get picked up everywhere when I just kind of retweeted it,” he said.
“But you know, it was a long time ago, Saturday morning,” he added, referring to the show’s original time slot.
The actor acknowledged that the young cast did not receive “the best deal,” but emphasized that the series played an important role in shaping his career.
“I have nothing but pleasant memories and a great experience, but… we were kids and it wasn’t the best deal, looking back. Still, it provided a lot of the opportunities that I’m able to kind of have today.”
Saved By The Bell originally aired on NBC as part of the network’s Saturday morning lineup rather than during primetime, a factor Lopez believes may have contributed to the cast’s lower compensation.
“It was also Saturday morning too,” he explained. “Wasn’t primetime. I think that was the big difference too.”
As a result, the long-term financial returns for the Saved By The Bell cast appear far removed from the millions still reportedly generated by stars of major 1990s primetime sitcoms.
Asked whether the former cast members still receive residuals, Lopez replied, “We do, it’s just sometimes less than the postage.”
Thiessen recently brought renewed attention to the subject when she told Page Six Radio that she now receives virtually no income from her time on Saved By The Bell.
“I don’t think for Saved By The Bell anymore, I think it’s dried out,” she said when asked about the show’s residuals. “It’s like, negative now. It probably costs more to print the check.”
Thiessen also said the cast saw a modest pay increase when the series moved into primetime for one season. “When we went primetime for one season, we got a little bit more,” she explained.
Saved By The Bell aired from 1989 to 1993 and began as part of NBC’s Saturday morning programming
‘We were kids and it wasn’t the best deal,’ Mario told Our News Outlet
‘I didn’t start making real money until I went to 90210.’
Thiessen, who was still early in her acting career when she joined Saved By The Bell, admitted they had no ‘pull’ on the show.
‘We didn’t have pull on that show at all. We made nothing and we just did our job,’ she said.
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The remarks eventually made their way to Lopez, who tweeted of them: ‘Real talk!’
While the cast of Saved By The Bell may not be raking in the cash, there are success stories of actors who are now living comfortably off a show they starred in years earlier.
Two And A Half Men star Jon Cryer recently told Page Six he is still receiving an income stream from the show that allows him to never have to ‘worry about making your rent every month.’
‘But it’s not [from] residuals as much,” he said. ‘Although, there is still, there are still residual payments that are substantial. It’s mostly because over the course of the years, I was able to get some percentage of the show.’
Meanwhile, Friends star Lisa Kudrow revealed the cast earn a whooping $20M a year from reruns of their show while Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano earns up to $18 million annually in syndication residuals.
Mario’s co-star Tiffani Thiessen recently reignited the conversation about Saved By The Bell residuals when she revealed just how little she continues to earn from the show
Lopez was speaking with Our News Outlet during The Alma Academy in Las Vegas
Seinfeld’s Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, who each had 15 percent ownership of the show’s backend profits, made up to $400m every time their show was syndicated, according to New York Magazine.
Lopez continued acting after Saved By The Bell and found his way into television hosting on both Extra and Access Hollywood – the ladder of which recently ended after 30 years.
Since September 1996, Access Hollywood has been providing entertainment news to the masses with big names such as Billy Bush, Maria Menounos, and Natalie Morales serving as correspondents over the years.
Lopez joined Access Hollywood in 2019 and remains ‘grateful’ for everyone he worked with.
Last week, Sin City played host to The Alma Academy, a two-day event inviting physicians, aesthetic experts, and industry professionals the opportunity to learn more about the future of medical aesthetics and innovation
***’It was an awesome experience between Extra and Access. It was twenty years, and I love it, and grateful for everybody that I worked with, and still very much keep in touch, and still working with a lot, and still at Universal. ***
***’I still have my nationally syndicated radio show that I do with my wife [Courtney Lopez] there, On with Mario, we’re about to do a morning one as well, and then another entertainment show with Universal. So it’s like I can’t get out of there!… So good to be there.’ ***
Lopez’s hosting skills were put to good use last week, as he served as host of the Alma Academy’s Almies Awards Gala in Las Vegas.
Last week, Sin City played host to The Alma Academy, a two-day event inviting physicians, aesthetic experts, and industry professionals the opportunity to learn more about the future of medical aesthetics and innovation.
Bebe Rexha was one of the stars attending the gala
The Almies Awards Gala honored the innovations and the best the medical aesthetics industry
The Almies Awards Gala honored the innovations and the best the medical aesthetics industry.
**’A lot of people always ask me my skincare routine. I really don’t have a routine other than I just make sure I use a scrub and a wash. ***
***’I don’t want to get ingrown hairs when I’m about to shave and stuff. I do, you know, try to get facials and stuff because I wear a lot of makeup because of work, right? So I’ll do that. ***
***’But my wife was a fan, and The Alma Academy, I thought was very cool. It brings together all best physicians and aesthetic experts, and just people in the industry that are pros, and they’re sort of exploring the future of medical aesthetics.***
***’And get to be here in Vegas, and I know a lot of people that are here from LA and celebrating, and I’m happy to take part in it.’***
