Mandy Moore Reveals Her 'This Is Us' Streaming Residuals Have Been As Low As One Cent

The SAG-AFTRA strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is currently in full swing, and among the picketing talents is "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore. While taking to the picket lines this week, Moore revealed to The Hollywood Reporter some of the main issues that the guild is striking over, such as that of actor residuals.

During the interview with THR, Moore revealed that she once received a residual check in the amount of one cent for the hit series, "This Is Us."

Residuals over streaming is one of the main issues at the heart of SAG-AFTRA's dispute with the AMPTP. Moore starred in the hit NBC drama "This Is Us," which was produced by 20th Television and aired on NBC, for six seasons. According to Moore, she's received residual checks for the show from as low as a penny to 81 cents from the show streaming on Hulu.

While picketing in Burbank at Disney, Moore said on the residual issue, "We’re in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another … but many actors in our position for years before us were able to live off of residuals or at least pay their bills." Moore was picketing alongside former "Scandal" star Katie Lowes.

Moore added on the situation, "I was talking with my business manager who said he’s received a residual for a penny and two pennies." THR notes that Lowes stated that she has yet to receive any substantial residuals from "Scandal," another Disney-owned series, which has streaming deals with Netflix and Hulu.

Lowes commented on the residuals issue, "If you are someone who has been fortunate enough in our positions to do 120-plus episodes of a successful show in previous years — 10, 15, 20 years ago — that re-airing would be the thing that could sustain you on years where I did this smaller project or I wanted to go do a play or you have kids and you have a family to provide for." She added, "And that is just not a reality anymore. The entire model has changed."

SAG-AFTRA represents 160,000 members, who have declared a collective labor strike against the AMPTP, representing the major studios and streamers. They join the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which is currently in the midst of its own strike against the AMPTP.

The combined WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have effectively shut down the entertainment industry in Hollywood, with major productions being shut down. Per THR, SAG-AFTRA has stated that the AMPTP rejected a new media revenue sharing proposal, which would allow casts to share in the revenue generated when their performances are shown on streaming platforms, allowing actors to share in the success of "high-performing shows." The AMPTP reportedly declined to respond to SAG-AFTRA's outlined demands for streaming residuals for working actors in the guild.

Under the current system, actors still receive residuals when their shows will re-air on regular broadcast networks. However, more TV networks have shifted to year-round schedules with original programming and focusing more on lower-cost, unscripted reality programming. This has lowered the amount of television repeats and syndicated programming. With fewer shows receiving repeat broadcasts, it has lowered the number of residuals for both working actors and writers within the industry. Also, major streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+, and Disney+ do not provide traditional viewership figures. Another major issue of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes is transparency for streaming viewership data.

Moore has been a member of SAG-AFTRA since 1999, and Lowes reportedly joined the guild in 2004. In 2019, Moore was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work as Rebecca Pearson on "This Is Us."

SAG-AFTRA declared a strike on the AMPTP on July 14, when both sides failed to come to terms on a new contract. They agreed to an extension when the original deadline was 11:59 pm PST on June 30. However, the next deadline was July 12. After contract talks broke down, SAG-AFTRA declared a labor strike.