Post by AznAngel on Feb 13, 2002 22:01:03 GMT -5
HELL YEAH!!!!
Heres the article on it:
NBC's `Friends' Agree to Come Back
Mon Feb 11, 9:47 PM ET
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
NEW YORK - Television's most popular show, the NBC comedy "Friends," is coming back for a ninth and final season.
The six actors who star in the show, NBC and Warner Brothers Television signed a deal Monday to wrap up the series with a final, 24-episode season starting in the fall.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arguette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will all be paid $1 million per episode for the final season, according to sources close to the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Their contracts, believed to be worth more than $750,000 per episode now, were due to expire at the end of the season.
It was unexpectedly quick good news for NBC, which had been concerned that negotiations over the series' return would stretch into May, as it had the last time "Friends" was renewed. May is when networks announce their new fall schedules.
This year, however, the actors — buoyed by the show's strong ratings and positive critical response this season — decided early they wanted to come back.
"Friends" has drawn an average of 24.5 million viewers this season, more than any other regular series. It has never finished as the No. 1 show for any season in its history, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"We've never had better `Friends,'" said NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, "and we're thrilled.
"Since we all had the same objective, this was the easiest deal we have ever made," Zucker said. "Everyone wanted it to work out, because everyone wanted to be able to send the series out appropriately, and in style."
The season is nearing a climax with Aniston's character, Rachel, pregnant and due to deliver a baby during the May ratings sweeps.
NBC will reportedly pay Warner Brothers a $6 million per episode license fee for the series, up from the current $5.5 million.
Earlier Monday, show representatives denied a tabloid report that writers were working on a final episode that had Rachel dying in childbirth.
Heres the article on it:
NBC's `Friends' Agree to Come Back
Mon Feb 11, 9:47 PM ET
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
NEW YORK - Television's most popular show, the NBC comedy "Friends," is coming back for a ninth and final season.
The six actors who star in the show, NBC and Warner Brothers Television signed a deal Monday to wrap up the series with a final, 24-episode season starting in the fall.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arguette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will all be paid $1 million per episode for the final season, according to sources close to the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Their contracts, believed to be worth more than $750,000 per episode now, were due to expire at the end of the season.
It was unexpectedly quick good news for NBC, which had been concerned that negotiations over the series' return would stretch into May, as it had the last time "Friends" was renewed. May is when networks announce their new fall schedules.
This year, however, the actors — buoyed by the show's strong ratings and positive critical response this season — decided early they wanted to come back.
"Friends" has drawn an average of 24.5 million viewers this season, more than any other regular series. It has never finished as the No. 1 show for any season in its history, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"We've never had better `Friends,'" said NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, "and we're thrilled.
"Since we all had the same objective, this was the easiest deal we have ever made," Zucker said. "Everyone wanted it to work out, because everyone wanted to be able to send the series out appropriately, and in style."
The season is nearing a climax with Aniston's character, Rachel, pregnant and due to deliver a baby during the May ratings sweeps.
NBC will reportedly pay Warner Brothers a $6 million per episode license fee for the series, up from the current $5.5 million.
Earlier Monday, show representatives denied a tabloid report that writers were working on a final episode that had Rachel dying in childbirth.
