5 ms·

--- a friend who worked in the writer's room on a FOX broadcast TV show several years ago was able to buy a house with the salary from one season this seems to

--- a friend who worked in the writer's room on a FOX broadcast TV show several years ago was able to buy a house with the salary from one season this seems to make the case that writers were previously overpaid way beyond normal americans, and perhaps salaries are regressing to what average americans make

JustSomeNobody 3y ago
> ... normal americans Normal Americans don't generate something that generates many millions of dollars.
- wiredfool 3y ago
  And they also don't generally have order of magnitude changes in their earnings from year to year.
omegaworks 3y ago
>this seems to make the case that writers were previously overpaid What does it say about our society that the regression to the average no longer accommodates classic expectations of American life like homeownership.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  I would assume they meant home (or land) ownership in Southern California, which was not a classic expectation of American life.
- Dylan16807 3y ago
  My reading is that they paid for the entire house with less than one year's work. That's a lot more money than the classic homeowner expectation.
  - jjk166 3y ago
    But it's a feast or famine deal - one year you make enough for a house, the next 5 years you are looking for another show to work on, and that's assuming you are at the top of your profession - a lot of people doing writer's work (such as writing spec scripts) have never had a gig, and even among those who do get a paying writing job many won't find a second. I don't know the numbers for TV writers, but 65% of people with a movie writing credit only ever get the one, and only 20% get 3 or more. Residuals might take the edge off, but if you're only expecting to see one solid payday a decade you better be getting enough to buy a house.
    - Dylan16807 3y ago
      Wouldn't a show usually hire you for multiple years? But yes if it's that irregular then the height of the pay spikes is reasonable. And also being that irregular is awful.
      - jjk166 3y ago
        Possibly. Shows don't necessarily get multiple seasons, and even if they do writers aren't necessarily brought back for their duration. For example of the 11 people with writing credits for Stranger Things (including both Duffer Brothers), 6 have only written for a single season. Now if you are the showrunner for a successful series you're going to be making bank for a while, but the overwhelming number of writers will never be in that position.
devindotcom 3y ago
Vanishingly few writers have a steady salaried gig at a major broadcast network. I'm happy for this friend but they are an extreme outlier in the industry.
lotsofpulp 3y ago
> this seems to make the case that writers were previously overpaid way beyond normal americans, and perhaps salaries are regressing to what average americans make The simpler explanation is writers were appropriately paid based on their supply and demand in previous years, and a decrease in pay in future years indicates a shift in supply and demand.
gamblor956 3y ago
A) Houses were cheaper back then. B) Streaming wasn't as big back then, so TV was a much bigger part of the entertainment pie. C) The show was profitable for FOX (at the time). C) Truly bizarre that people on a forum bragging about making well into the 6 figures for 30 hours of work a week reinventing yet another wheel are talking shit about other people making 6 figures for 60 hours of work a week on a product regularly enjoyed by millions of people and which contribute to the progression of shared cultural experiences.

JustSomeNobody 3y ago

> ... normal americans Normal Americans don't generate something that generates many millions of dollars.

wiredfool 3y ago
And they also don't generally have order of magnitude changes in their earnings from year to year.

omegaworks 3y ago

>this seems to make the case that writers were previously overpaid What does it say about our society that the regression to the average no longer accommodates classic expectations of American life like homeownership.

lotsofpulp 3y ago
I would assume they meant home (or land) ownership in Southern California, which was not a classic expectation of American life.
Dylan16807 3y ago
My reading is that they paid for the entire house with less than one year's work. That's a lot more money than the classic homeowner expectation.
- jjk166 3y ago
  But it's a feast or famine deal - one year you make enough for a house, the next 5 years you are looking for another show to work on, and that's assuming you are at the top of your profession - a lot of people doing writer's work (such as writing spec scripts) have never had a gig, and even among those who do get a paying writing job many won't find a second. I don't know the numbers for TV writers, but 65% of people with a movie writing credit only ever get the one, and only 20% get 3 or more. Residuals might take the edge off, but if you're only expecting to see one solid payday a decade you better be getting enough to buy a house.
  - Dylan16807 3y ago
    Wouldn't a show usually hire you for multiple years? But yes if it's that irregular then the height of the pay spikes is reasonable. And also being that irregular is awful.
    - jjk166 3y ago
      Possibly. Shows don't necessarily get multiple seasons, and even if they do writers aren't necessarily brought back for their duration. For example of the 11 people with writing credits for Stranger Things (including both Duffer Brothers), 6 have only written for a single season. Now if you are the showrunner for a successful series you're going to be making bank for a while, but the overwhelming number of writers will never be in that position.

devindotcom 3y ago

Vanishingly few writers have a steady salaried gig at a major broadcast network. I'm happy for this friend but they are an extreme outlier in the industry.

lotsofpulp 3y ago

> this seems to make the case that writers were previously overpaid way beyond normal americans, and perhaps salaries are regressing to what average americans make The simpler explanation is writers were appropriately paid based on their supply and demand in previous years, and a decrease in pay in future years indicates a shift in supply and demand.

gamblor956 3y ago

A) Houses were cheaper back then. B) Streaming wasn't as big back then, so TV was a much bigger part of the entertainment pie. C) The show was profitable for FOX (at the time). C) Truly bizarre that people on a forum bragging about making well into the 6 figures for 30 hours of work a week reinventing yet another wheel are talking shit about other people making 6 figures for 60 hours of work a week on a product regularly enjoyed by millions of people and which contribute to the progression of shared cultural experiences.