Angela Bassett’s $450K raise for ‘9-1-1’, makes her highest-earning actor of color on network TV: report
The actress and executive producer is set to make the highest amount ever for an actress of color
It’s a good day for Angela Bassett. The accomplished actress is set to hit a new record for actors of color in television after earning a significant raise for 9-1-1 season five, per Deadline.
Since premiering in 2018, 9-1-1 has been a smash-hit procedural for Fox. The series stars Bassett, Peter Krause, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Rockmond Dunbar, and Aisha Hinds as first responders in Los Angeles, exploring “the high-pressure experiences.”
Returning for a fifth season after solid season 4 ratings, the cast has reportedly negotiated higher salaries for their return, with Bassett’s ranking as one of the highest for an actress of color in a network drama.
When the show returns for season five, Bassett is set to make more than $450K an episode. This number is, “believed to be among the top salaries on network television for any actor — male or female — and could be the highest ever for an actress of color on a broadcast drama series,” per Deadline.
In addition to starring in the hit procedural, Bassett also executive produces and was involved in the series’ development back in 2017. Show creator Ryan Murphy developed the show with Bassett in mind. She also serves as an executive producer for the popular spin-off, 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Krause (Parenthood), who stars opposite Bassett, also gained a significant pay bump, giving him the second-biggest earnings in the series, followed by Love Hewitt. Krause’s number is, “believed to be in the low $300K per episode range.”
At the beginning of the year, Bassett caught up with theGrio to break down her 9-1-1 role, and how she returned to the series and her role as a police officer after the summer of 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Bassett shared, “I think in the portrayal of Athena, who we’ve come to know her as, the type of woman she, the way she loves her family, the way she loves her profession…she’s a good representation and portrayal of the best of what we hope for in our law enforcement, and she holds that tenet, that mandate to serve and protect her community.”
She continued, “At its core it is entertainment…we are characters that are flawed in the way that we are…this show shows there are great traumas and dramas that we all are faced with and deal with.”
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