Big 'Ray' payday: $40 mil
Romano's salary could hit $900K per episode
|
Romano's ultrarich deal with HBO Independent Prods. and Worldwide Pants, the show's producers, comes in the wake of last week's news that "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer has reupped with Paramount Network Television for a record $1.6 million per seg, while Drew Carey has agreed to stay with his self-titled ABC laffer for a payday of nearly $750,000 per episode (Daily Variety, June 22.)
A rep for HBO Independent Prods. declined comment, as did a CBS spokesman.
However, industry insiders peg the value of Romano's new pact at a minimum of $800,000 per episode; with various sweeteners, the fee could go as high as $900,000. What's more, part of Romano's pay will be retroactive to include his work on the fourth and fifth seasons of the skein, insiders said.
It's also likely that Romano's pay will not be the same for each season, which means his retroactive pay for season four won't be as high as his check for season-seven segs.
The deal with Romano has been in the works since last winter, when CBS inked a $140 million pact renewing "Raymond" through May 2003, the show's seventh season.
It's expected that HIP and Worldwide Pants will move quickly to seal deals with other key "Raymond" thesps, including Emmy winner Patricia Heaton.
"Raymond" is coming off its strongest season yet, ranking as TV's second most-watched laffer (behind only NBC's "Friends"). The skein averages nearly 20 million viewers per week, and regularly wins its 9 p.m. Monday slot in viewers and adults 18-49.
In September, repeats of "Raymond" will bow in syndication.
