More D’oh for the Simpsons cast
Mon May 3 2004

The cast of The Simpsons have ended their month-long walkout after pocketing a hefty pay rise.

The six main actors who provide the voices for Homer, Bart and the rest of the stars of the cult cartoon series have seen their pay double from $125,000 to a reported $250,000 per episode.The pay deal will earn the actors $5.5 million each for for a 22-episode season – a nice sum considering each episode takes a day to make.

But the deal is less than the $8 million sought by the cast who also gave up their demand for a share in the show’s profits.

The pay dispute threatened the future of The Simpsons – America’s longest running comedy – as its stars refused to attend script readings.

Season 16, which is about to air in the US, was expected to be cut short if the issue was not resolved.

“We couldn’t be happier to have reached a multi-year deal with the enormously talented cast of The Simpsons,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Fans will be pleased to know that despite our recent production delay, we are optimistic that they can look forward to a full season’s episodes next year on Fox and hopefully many years to come.”