Um, that 22 minutes takes them about 60hrs a week, not counting all the promo work they’re expected to do for the show.
Even setting that aside - the show ran for 10 years, during which time maybe 100 other sitcoms were started and probably on 50 survived to air and then died. Saying they were just standing around is like saying you’re surprised Charlaine Harris gets all that money for just typing.
But think about how many hungry children could have been fed with that money.
Yes, that way they can take more risks and leave TV shows that have smaller audiences alone, letting them run to at least the end of the season.
You could say that for everything we spend money on for entertainment. The fact is America would rather spend a billion dollars watching “Avatar” than feeding the hungry, sick or homeless. We could probably wipe out most social ills with what we’ve spent in iPads the last few years. The nature of the beast.
I agree. He does a very good job of playing the role. Another lucky bastard is the guy who plays his son, who a couple of years ago got a raise to $300,000 per episode. (Although I wonder how much he gets now, as he appears only rarely.)