Mayim Bialik And Melissa Rauch Were Earning 80 Percent Less Than Their Big Bang Theory Co-Stars, Her
Like a lot of shows that last for twelve seasons, The Big Bang Theory went through a lot of changes over the years. Initially focused on four nerdy singles and their attractive and popular neighbor, in the end, the show focused on romantic partnerships much more.
A huge portion of the reason why the show went through that big shift is Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik were added to the cast and fans loved them. Given how important Bialik and Rauch became to the show, that begs an obvious question, why were they paid so much less than their co-stars?
How Did Mayim Bialik And Melissa Rauch Join The Big Bang Theory's Cast?
Looking back at The Big Bang Theory history, it can easily be argued that the show's third season was the most impactful by far. The reason that is the case is several things happened during the third season that changed the show forever.
During the first episode of season three, things started off with a bang. When the guys return from their expedition to the North Pole, Penny and Leonard's relationship goes to a whole new level the second they see each other for the first time.
Following that, the fifth episode of the season focused on Leonard getting Penny to set Howard up after a lot of prodding. When Penny eventually relents, fans got to meet Bernadette for the first time.
Finally, the final episode of the third season sees Howard and Raj set up a dating profile for Sheldon without his permission. After Sheldon matches with a woman named Amy Farrah Fowler, Raj and Howard convince him to meet her.
When Bernadette and Amy were first introduced, Melissa Rauch was given a recurring role and Mayim Bialik was only brought in for a single season. Despite that, there was something about both characters that clicked which resulted in both actors being promoted to the starring cast during the fourth season.
Before Bialik and Rauch joined The Big Bang Theory's cast, the show's producers did something similar with a different actor.
After Sara Gilbert appeared as Leslie Winkle in three first-season episodes as Leslie Winkle, she showed up in four more the following year. Since she only appeared in a handful of episodes, many The Big Bang Theory fans don't realize Gilbert was promoted to the show's main cast during the second season.
Since Gilbert officially was added to The Big Bang Theory's main cast, it seems pretty clear that Leslie was meant to play a bigger role in the show at one point. Sadly for Gilbert and fans who enjoyed Leslie, things obviously didn't work out the way they seemingly were planned.
Considering what happened with Leslie, fans may have wondered if Amy and Bernadette would come and go before too long as well. Thankfully for all involved, fans grew to love Bernadette and Amy so Rauch appeared in 209 episodes of the show and Bialik was a part of 203 episodes.
How Much Was The Cast Of The Big Bang Theory Paid?
Back when The Big Bang Theory first premiered, it was pretty clear to viewers that Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard were considered the show's main stars. As a result, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, and Johnny Galecki were paid more than their co-stars for a long time.
During the first three seasons of The Big Bang Theory, Galecki, Cuoco, and Parsons were all paid $60,000 per episode. For the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons, they got a raise to $200,000 per episode which was a huge deal for them.
Far from content with that raise, Cuoco, Galecki, and Parsons negotiated another raise and received $350,000 per episode for the seventh and eighth seasons. Amazingly enough, the three actors then managed to demand $1 million per episode. According to some reports, Parsons actually got $1.2 million per episode but outlets like Forbes reported he got the same amount as his co-stars.
In terms of how much Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg were paid to star in The Big Bang Theory, it is more difficult to get concrete numbers. According to some reports, the duo were each paid $45,000 per episode at first but according to a Deadline report, Nayyar received $25,000 per episode until he negotiated a raise to $75,000.
What does seem a lot more clear is Helberg and Nayyar were finally able to reach parity with Cuoco, Parsons, and Galecki several seasons later. In 2010, it was widely reported that after a tense negotiation, Nayyar and Helberg negotiated a deal to be paid $1 million per episode for the eighth, ninth, and tenth seasons.
Why Were Malissa Rauch And Mayim Bialik Paid Less Than Their Co-Stars On The Big Bang Theory?
Another thing that was very clear at that moment was Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik were being paid a fraction of what their five co-stars got. That also wasn't anything new for the two actors as Bialik and Rauch were always paid less than their co-stars.
According to Deadline, Bialik and Rauch were each paid $20,000 - $30,000 per episode when they joined The Big Bang Theory's cast during season four. A couple of seasons in, the two actors signed new deals that resulted in them receiving $60,000 per episode at first which increased to $100,000 per episode by the contract's end. The pair later got another raise to $175,000 per episode.
In 2017, it was announced that Rauch and Bialik got a large raise with the help of their co-stars. Since Parsons, Cuoco, Galecki, Helberg, and Nayyar clearly all believed Bialik and Rauch were wildly underpaid, they all agreed to take a $100,000 pay cut.
Since their co-stars freed up $500,000 from the show's salary cap, Rauch and Bialik each got a $250,000 per episode raise. That meant that the two actors who brought Bernadette and Amy to life got $425,000 per episode for The Big Bang Theory's final two seasons.
While Bialik and Rauch must have been thrilled to get such a significant raise, the fact remains they still were paid much less than their co-stars. Even after getting that massive pay bump, they still received less than half of the $900,000 per episode their co-stars got. With that in mind, it begs an obvious and simple question, why?
Looking back at the fact that Rauch and Bialik were underpaid for years, some people may reflexively blame that on something nefarious. After all, the two women were paid a lot less than their male co-stars. On top of that, The Big Bang Theory's only minority cast member was paid less than three of his white co-stars for many years.
However, based on what is known about how much each of The Big Bang Theory's cast members were paid, another explanation seems more likely. After Bialik and Rauch joined the cast several seasons in, they likely weren't seen as imperative to the show's success.
Since The Big Bang Theory was a massive success years before either actor showed up, the show's producers likely believed it would still be a hit if Rauch and Bialik left. Assuming that is the case, that would give the actors less clout during contract negotiations which would mean they couldn't demand as much money. That said, it could easily be argued that the fact that The Big Bang Theory's producers only thought the show needed one main female character at first is a symptom of sexism in the business.
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