According to The Hollywood Reporter, Katie Lowes (this Is Us, Inventing Anna) joined the SAG-AFTRA members striking on Tuesday. Lowes discussed how unfeasible residuals were in the modern age.
“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, and that just not a reality anymore,” she said. “The entire model has changed.”
This is similar to the story of actress Mandy Moore (How To Deal, This Is Us.) Moore says that she would receive residual checks as small as eighty-one cents or even a penny. She discussed residuals further from the picket lines. “[It’s] is a huge issue,’ she said. “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.”
In the world of streaming, no fair precedent has been set for residuals in the streaming era. When a series moves to a different streaming platform, actors receive little extra compensation despite the high value placed on the series that move from streaming service to streaming service. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA are also advocating for streaming service statistics transparency. Top Streaming services like Prime Video and Netflix do not provide viewership data. As of yet, the AMPTP has yet to comment on the SAG’s demands about residuals or transparency.
Joining together in the picketing, Lowes and Moore work in the same acting group and have both starred in This Is Us. Moore has been a member of SAG-AFTRA since 1999, and Lowes has been a member since 2004.