Mayim Bialik debuted as Amy in the 3rd season of The Big Bang Theory. Despite a pay raise with each season, she earned less than the main cast.
The Big Bang Theory stands tall among the upper echelons of popular sitcoms that audiences have loved over the years. Along with FRIENDS and How I Met Your Mother, the Jim Parsons-led show always managed to grab eyeballs and still finds new audiences. Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco kicked off as the main leads from season 1.
By season 3, supporting players such as Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, Melissa Rauch, and Mayim Bialik became fan favorites. However, the three main leads continued to be the top earners from the show and the cast’s pay continued to be raised each season. Unfortunately, there was a huge pay gap between Bialik and other male supporting actors.
Mayim Bialik Was Paid Less Compared to The Male Supporting Actors On The Big Bang Theory
Mayim Bialik joined The Big Bang Theory in the third season of the show as her character Amy is introduced in the finale of the season. By then, the five principal cast of the show, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar, and Simon Helberg, were already household names and were paid hefty paychecks for their roles in the show.
As stated by The Richest, Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco were paid $1 million each for the first season while Nayyar and Helberg were paid $765,000 each for their supporting roles. The success of the first season led to a raise where Parsons and Galecki received $5 million, $4.5 for Cuoco, while Nayyar and Helberg got $3 million for the second season.
Bialik was only in the finale of the third season and thus, she received only $378,602. By season 4, she had become a series regular and got a raise, receiving half a million for season 4. By season 5, Bialik and Melissa Rauch each received $5 million for the season while their male counterparts Nayyar and Helberg were each getting $6 million for that season.
The final season saw the biggest raise for the cast as the original five cast members each got $1 million for each episode (via Entertainment Tonight). The original stars even gave up $100,000 per episode from their pay to give a raise to Bialik and Rauch (via The Hollywood Reporter). Still, Bialik was paid less than her male supporting cast members, as she got likely around $425,000 per episode compared to the $1 million that Nayyar and Helberg were getting.
Chuck Lorre Remembers Bob Newhart’s Tremendous Contribution on The Big Bang Theory
Legendary actor Bob Newhart played the fan favorite Arthur Jeffries, aka Professor Proton, in multiple episodes of The Big Bang Theory. The beloved actor sadly passed away last month and the show’s co-creator Chuck Lorre paid a sweet tribute to the late actor in a statement. In it, Lorre described how he had always wanted Newhart to be part of the show.
Lorre further expressed his happiness at having had the opportunity to work with a comedy legend and honoring his wishes on the show. He’s lucky to have had Newhart as a friend and praised him for being a master of the craft. Lorre said (via Deadline),
For years I begged Bob to appear on one of my shows. He always said no. But then he fell in love with The Big Bang Theory and said yes – with two provisions. One: his character had to have an arc that spanned several episodes. And two: he wanted to win an Emmy. We delivered on both. I got to work with a comedy legend. A master of the craft, and a kind and gentle man. I even got to call him a friend. How lucky am I?
Newhart won his only Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Professor Proton on the show. The versatile actor also starred in successful films such as Hot Millions, Catch-22, Cold Turkey, In & Out, and Elf. He will forever be missed and his works will continue to be celebrated.
