TV Schedule 'Disaster': How Reps Keep Talent Working in Hiatus Chaos
Exclusivity was made for a 22-episode world. Now dealmakers for actors and writers use clever ways to keep everyone earning through the calendar
Ashley Cullins writes for paid subscribers. She recently interviewed CEO Tom Quinn on how he built Neon; covered dealmakers’ endorsement decisions for clients — cash, sweat equity or going for the mega exit; and the art of getting an original film greenlight in 2025. You can reach her at ashley@theankler.com
Fresh off Severance’s successful second season on Apple TV+, the streamer renewed the show for season three — and on March 31, Britt Lower (who plays Helly) signed on to co-star in Netflix’s forthcoming Harlan Coben adaptation, I Will Find You. Also yesterday, the breakout star of HBO’s The Penguin, Cristin Milioti, joined the FX pilot Seven Sisters, which is shooting in May.
Stars of current series being cast on competitors' projects would have once been shocking, and now, well, it’s a Monday. But that was before the entire ecosystem changed. Instead of a reliable nine-month schedule as a series regular, now that role could mean just three or four months of work — and not necessarily the same months each year, or even in two consecutive years. Severance, after all, went three years between seasons; The Penguin has yet to be renewed officially, and if it is, it’ll have to work around director Matt Reeves’ next Batman movie.
“In the olden days when TV was basically just broadcast, everything was on a very strict schedule. There was a rhythm to the year. That provided a certain amount of predictability for us,” says Jamie Feldman, managing partner of Lichter Grossman, whose clients include Viola Davis, Juno Temple and Dev Patel. A series regular gig meant work from July until the season wrapped in April. With three months before reporting back for the next season, actors could pop across the lot and film a movie. Rinse and repeat the following year. Life was good — and lucrative. Twenty-two episode seasons meant seven or eight-figure paydays.
“That has all completely gone away now for a number of reasons,” Feldman continues. “You don't have an annual broadcast cycle anymore. You have shows dropping whenever and shooting whenever. You don’t have a pilot season anymore. You have casting happening year-round. That has completely thrown everything off kilter.”
Or, as one agent for A-listers on some of TVs biggest shows put it: “Now, it’s all a disaster.”
He continues: “An eight-episode show can take one [studio] two and a half months to shoot, and it can take another place five months to shoot. Anything is possible, and any time is possible — even on the network side.”
Because studios/networks/streamers demand exclusivity in the vast majority of contracts as well as those issues relating to unpredictable schedules and series renewal decisions, talent reps sometimes have to perform miracles to keep their clients working regularly. As Feldman notes, actors and writers are finding it “a lot harder to live off one series job” and the “vast majority of people are doing eight episodes now — and not for three times what they used to make.” That necessitates more nimbleness and creativity in turning what used to be a hiatus or a time for that passion project into another revenue stream for their clients.
It is possible to pull it off — look no further than Nicole Kidman, Pedro Pascal or the casts of Euphoria, 1923 and Yellowjackets as proof — so I spoke with Brillstein’s Doug Wald and Jackoway Austen partner Darren Trattner, as well as a few reps who requested anonymity in exchange for candor, and asked them how they’re navigating these seismic shifts to keep their clients working.
In this issue, these dealmakers will tell you:
How they help multi-hyphenates get multiple shows on the air
Why exclusivity clauses don’t mean what they used to for stars
How lawyers and agents have learned to work around them
The often-overlooked deal point that matters more than ever
One way to keep a lowball offer from tanking your client’s quote
How reps are managing clients’ schedules when seeking a second job
Why talent still has to “kiss the ring” at the studio
The creative approaches lawyers deploy to use the leverage talent has
How options on talent have become more onerous with slow series renewals — and what lawyers are doing about it
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