14 DAY TRIAL // They say there is only one person that can make Chuck Norris cry and that person is Jack Bauer, the male lead in the highly successful series “24.” However, Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, is not only incredibly strong, he also brings in the good money, with Hello Magazine saying that Sutherland is the highest paid actor on television at the moment.
Kiefer makes about $550,000 for each episode of the series, which makes of his contract with the network the most lucrative at the present moment. Having this kind of salary can only mean one thing, movie-oriented publications say: Sutherland does a good job as Jack Bauer, the audiences love him and Fox, the network carrying the series, does not want and cannot afford to lose him.
Still, that might happen sooner than fans believe perhaps, since Fox bosses are said to be thinking now whether to renew his contract after he’s done shooting for the upcoming season. Chances that they decide to end the show altogether are very high at this point actually, the network’s head of programming says, as cited by the aforementioned source. “It’s going to come down to a business decision. It’s not an inexpensive show on the network books and we also want to finish strong. This is not a show we want to prop up.” reads an official statement.
However, for the time being, Kiefer Sutherland remains the highest paid actor in television, topping even “House M.D.” star Hugh Laurie, who held the previous record with $400,000 per episode, even if chances of being outlived by the runner-up seem very high right now, what with “House” getting a warmer response from fans and critics, and the rumors of the impending end.
Speaking of warm response from the fan community, the latest on “House M.D.” seems to have stirred up quite a debate among fans and viewers alike. Creator David Shore told Michael Ausiello of The Ausiello Files that the first part of season 6 would not dwell on the House – Cuddy romance that seemed to have begun in season 5 (albeit only in House’s mind) since it would focus mostly on the doctor trying to get back to his senses, literally.
“We’re stepping back from it a little bit. We’re not ignoring it. We have to carry forward… It’s going to go someplace eventually. But the beginning of this season is primarily focused on House trying to find some semblance of sanity, and not completely succeeding.” Shore was saying of the Huddy romance over the weekend.