Behind-the-Scenes Orange is the New Black Salary Scandal is Blowing Up

Just a decade ago, Netflix was not the powerhouse streaming service it is today, but a fairly small platform trying to break into the competitive Hollywood market with its original shows.

Thanks to the producers' investment in real talent, the first two series the service ever produced — House of Cards and Orange is the New Black — turned out to be massive hits, cementing Netflix's position as the top dog in the then-fledgling streaming industry. However, it looks like the shows' actors were forced to sacrifice a lot for that glory.

Orange is the New Black has been an acclaimed hit since it premiered in 2013, but some of its cast members still don't agree with the way the producers paid them. While the main cast including Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, and Uzo Aduba were reportedly making close to $250,000 per episode, the supporting actors earned peanuts compared to them, as Netflix was only paying them $15,000 per episode, which is quite strange considering how popular the show was.

And now, with the SAG-AFTRA on strike in the streets of LA, some of the original cast members of Orange is the New Black have decided to share their ongoing issues with the streaming service, revealing that the money they are making from residuals is ridiculously small.

In a recent tiktok, actress Kimiko Glenn (Brook Soso) showed her recent royalties from the show's reruns.

@itskimiko why #sagaftra is striking #sagaftrastrong #sagaftrastrike #sagstrike ♬ original sound - kimiko

'I love how they put the ones with $0.00 just to rub it in,' commented one fan under the video.

'I remember all of us thinking, "Give us the money!" But we were always saying, "Give us the money." We were keenly aware that we weren't being paid. I get $20 in residuals! I would love to know: How much money did Ted Sarandos make last year?' actress Lea DeLaria said.

To make matters worse, Netflix producers were apparently trying to push the idea that being on a famous show is much better than actually making money. This message is completely untrue and served one purpose: to make producing Orange is the New Black a less costly affair for the service.

'As the seasons progressed, we started to get more disgruntled about money, mostly because of how incredibly popular the show was. And then it felt, like, "Well, my friends on network shows are incredibly wealthy,"' one anonymous actor said.

Thanks to these firsthand accounts, it becomes clear that Netflix should fix their residuals problem as soon as possible if it doesn't want to lose more money than it already made at the actors' cost. Without producers taking accountability for their actions, the SAG-AFTRA strike will go on for months and more of the service's projects will suffer as a result.

Source: Decider.