¡Ay caramba! It may soon be time to say good-bye to 'The Simpsons.' Edge of the seat contract negotiations are nothing new for the show, but now Fox has reportedly upped the ante, telling cast and crew to settle or lose their jobs.According to 'The Wrap,' Fox has said that if no agreement is reached in the ongoing contract dispute the show will be cancelled at the end of the current 23rd season.
And, even if the dispute is settled before tomorrow's deadline, the network will only air one more season of the show.
While producers have agreed to have their salaries cut to keep the show on the air for that extra season, the actors are still holding out. Arguing for a slice of the back-end and merchandising profits, they commissioned a report into the eventual profits, which estimates that Fox's total 'Simpsons' profits will reach almost $ 3 billion.
The actors currently make $ 440,000 per episode, which puts them in the same bracket as actors like Hugh Laurie ('House') and Mark Harmon ('NCIS'). However, they still lag far behind Ashton Kutcher's estimated $ 1 million per episode haul for 'Two and a Half Men.'
Fox told the cast to take a cut down to $ 250,000 an episode for Season 24 and rejected their counter-offer of $ 300,000 plus a share of the back-end profits. The actors have until noon Friday to accept or decline.
Earlier this week Fox issued a statement in which the network said "We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the voice cast that allows 'The Simpsons' to go on entertaining audiences with original episodes for many years to come." However, the idea of the show continuing beyond one more year is now off the table.
A source close to the show has confirmed Fox's assertion that the show is no longer profitable, and that for the network to produce another season it will have to reduce costs by 25 to 30 percent per episode.
Speaking anonymously, the source told 'The Wrap' that "The cuts proposed to actors are in line with cuts proposed to others involved in the show. The object here is not for the actors to pay personally for the reduction. The cost is that the cast is a component of the show, all of which is being downsized to do a final season."
Both sides are said to be keen to settle so they can go ahead and produce a final Season 24 in which they can give the show a worthy send-off. And, who knows? With all the attention it would get, maybe they'd collect just enough money to pay for a 25th season.
One thing seems certain: This dispute will go down to the wire. Stay tuned for updates.
'The Simpsons' airs Sunday nights, 8PM ET on Fox.
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