LOS ANGELES -- The future of animated TV comedy “The Simpsons” was up in the air on Tuesday after 20th Century Fox Television said it could no longer afford to produce the show without a huge pay cut for its cast.

Fox Television, a unit of News Corp NWSA.O, issued a tough statement after a report that it had threatened to end the subversive series unless the voice actors take a 45 percent pay cut.

"We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model,” Fox said.

Yeardley Smith "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,” the statement added.

"The Simpsons" is the longest-running comedy series on U.S. television and is currently in its 23rd season on Fox. The show also generates billions of dollars through global syndication, as well as DVD and merchandise sales.

The Fox statement followed a report on news website The Daily Beast that the principal voice cast members -- including the voices for Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) -- were having difficulty renegotiating contracts that currently see them earning around $8 million each per season.

The Daily Beast, quoting an unnamed insider, said the cast had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a 30 percent pay cut in return for a portion of the show's profits.

Fox did not dispute the Daily Beast report.

“The Simpsons” is broadcast in more than 100 countries and 50 languages and has become a staple of American culture, with the family earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

TV industry sources said producers have enough episodes to keep the comedy on the air until the end of the 2011-12 TV season in May.

But the sources said the dispute would need to be settled by December 2011, so that writers would be able to work on either the season finale, or the series finale, depending on the outcome of contract talks.

Other members of the cast and crew are also being asked to take pay cuts, according to the sources.

News Corp executives have said in recent weeks they are looking at ways to make more money from the show in the future, both in syndication rights and other areas.

News Corp COO Case Carey told an investors conference on Sept. 14 that executives had had a number of meetings in the past six months “to look at opportunities from A to Z.”

“But I think you can imagine, whether it's channel, digital, ourselves, third parties, it's a series unique in television, with a volume to it that is unprecedented,” Carey said, declining to give details.

Carey later jokingly brushed off a suggestion that a Simpson TV Channel might be underway.

“(It) is a franchise that you can do a lot of things with. And I think we'll continue to evaluate what those are. But -- and I wouldn't say we have in the drawing plans a Simpson Channel, although there's a lot of Simpson fans out there,” Carey told financial analysts on Sept. 21

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

It's been just another show for quite some time now.

Should have been killed several seasons ago and I haven't said "Hey, a new episode of the Simpsons is on, I gotta watch it!" in 10 years or so.

Seasons 2-7 are the best, actually some of the best TV ever.

i agree.

season 1 - meh, good for nostalgia. some decent episodes.
seasons 2 & 3 - some classics, getting more consistent
seasons 4 & 5 - just about every episode is brilliant
seasons 6-8 - still very good, some great ones
seasons 9-10 - starting to lose its consistency but it's still good, it's still good
seasons 11-12 - fading...fading...RISING...fading...fading...
seasons 13-

gone...

I say Homer holds out!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Couldn't agree more. I still watch but only out of habit. I usually hate it when someone says, "Their older stuff was better/funnier," but in the case of The Simpsons, it's completely accurate. I can trace when it started to suck back to Ian Maxtone Graham and Dana Gould becoming more involved in the show. Not funny. Not fun.

those two were probably the worst thing to happen to that show; agreed. NEVER hire fanboys to write a show.

I blame Al Jean.

So the show generates billions aand they cant afford to pay a handful of actors 8 million apiece? Hollywood accounting at its best.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I can't remember a good episode without Utit Choomuang.

Generates billions in Syndication. That's a different profit-loss center than Original Programming. Your real question is, what do they bring in from advertising to cover current episodes' expenses.

$24M per season for the voice talent... that's just astounding. Who here wouldn't do it for $250K? Seriously?

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

Some of them, especially the guys, do a lot of voices. There's only Danstellaneta, Hairy Sheer, and Hank Al Qaida doing male voices. They really bring the characters to life. They deserve it.

Just let the show end. It should've ended 10 years ago.

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Yes.

Long past its prime.

It's now Willie Mays on the Mets bad.

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Hairy Sheer? Sounds like a disease

Here's something to read up on the voices from the 50s on up... http://www.povonline.com/Cartoon%20Voices.htm

One thing that kills all shows is the rising costs of the acting talent. Its why you won't see many shows lasting over 6 (?) years. Its also why we're inundated with reality shows -- how replaceable are the stars? (Very)

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

Let's spell the man's name right, people. It's Harry Shearer. He, Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright and Marcia Wallace have provided many of the voices since "The Simpsons" was part of the old "Tracey Ullman Show" in the early years of FOX in the late '80s. This isn't a news story. The folks at 20th Century FOX Television and FOX, both units of News Corp., have been at odds over paying these actors before. Whether or not this is the end of the line remains to be seen.

SHARK, you left out Mila Kunis, Seth Green, and James Woods for the voices

RP Bryan, those are guest voices. Mila's one of the starring voices, "Meg" to be exact, on "Family Guy".

No Meg is the daughter on Bob's Burgers.

Harry Shearer is the voice of Stewie the Alien on American Father

If they don't bring back Troy McClure, i'm not interested.

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No, no, no! Seth MacFarlane is the voice of Stewie on "Family Guy"...

No, Seth McFarlane is the red head fellow from the Austin Powers movies.

He also created Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which can be seen on the ADULT TABLE portion of the Cartoon Channel

And Julie Kavner was the younger sister in "Rhoda". Wheeee!

And I couldn't do the joke if he spelled Harry's name right.

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

I still watch it every weekend. Last weekend was pretty funny.
I don't have the hard stance that the show has sucked for 10 years.

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@audioidkid

, RPB

I'm pretty sure the voice acting is harder than most of us think- I'm always amazed when they can sing etc. in character. And really, is $8M per year all that much for stars of a show still getting decent ratings? What was Sheen asking for, like $2M per episode?

That said, the writers make the show. I like the earlier one with Conan writing, despite not being a fan of his own show...

I'm sure its not as simple as all that. Is Fox allocating the same monies to Simpsons that is allocated to 2-1/2 Men? If not, are they using those monies for NFL Football? May be oranges and apples.

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

In Charlie Sheen's case, to my knowledge, it wasn't money that got him fired from "Two and a Half Men". He went on several radio shows to torch creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre, and stab co-star Jon Cryer in the back.

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More bad info from SHARK

Charles Estevez was asked to leave the show 2.5 Guys because he was at odds with studio exec Chuck Woolery over a deragotory nickname Charles used to describe Chuck's religious background, Voodooism.


Eztevez has since been replaced by Topher Grays, former star of "This Seventies Program" but the initial ratings bump it got after Charles was killed off on the show (Run over by a bus in Australia) has ceased and the talk among NBC execs is they will start to focus on the Grammy Winning "Big Bang Buddies" a show based on 4 nerdy girls and one attractive male. Darlene from Roseanne plays the lead.

Oh brother!