news If ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ Returns, It Won’t Be with Original Cast: ‘We Never Received Fair Compensation’

The cast of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” is asking a more important question: Where are the paychecks?

Original star Colin Mochrie, who appeared in over 50 episodes of the U.K.’s debut sketch improv series before founding the U.S. version along with Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady, and host Drew Carey, revealed that the actors “never received residuals” from the long-running series.

Mochrie’s U.K. appearances ran from 1991 to 1999; the American spin-off began in 1998 and lasted five years. From 2005 to 2007, previously unaired content was played on ABC Family despite no new episodes being filmed. “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” was picked up by The CW in 2013 with Aisha Tyler hosting. Mochrie tweeted that the show will end with its 20th season this year, despite The CW calling the announcement “not accurate.”

“Everyone at the show — producers and actors — are calling this the last taping,” Mochrie clarified to Vulture. “The short answer is that if it comes back, it probably won’t be with this cast. There is a complicated relationship with the show. The cast loves each other, and the actual shooting is always fun. We are all grateful that the show gave us a showcase and allowed us to be able to tour. The downside is that we never received fair compensation for the success of the show.”

Mochrie continued, “We provide the content but don’t get paid as ‘writers.’ We never received residuals for a show that’s been shown around the world since its inception. Seeing announcements about the sale to the show overseas or to HBO Max can get irritating.”

The comedian added, “I hope I don’t sound bitter, because I learned long ago that this business is not fair, and being bitter about it gets you nowhere. I also find it odd that any publicizing of the show comes through our social media. Every day a tweet shows up: ‘You guys should bring that show back!’ Every season for the last nine years we’ve had to remind folks that we are on. So the short answer is, as of now, this is the last season with this cast. The longer, more vague answer is that it’s like the Mafia: It keeps pulling us back, so who knows?”

Mochrie quipped, “I often get offers where they always start with ‘We have no money.’ And those are the things I find the most interesting.”

Mochrie also tweeted in November 2022 that “Whose Line” could continue on since there is “always an option for a new cast” while the original stars tour in “various incarnations.”
 
Every day a tweet shows up: ‘You guys should bring that show back!’ Every season for the last nine years we’ve had to remind folks that we are on.

Ouch. Lol.
 
Cracking Up Lol GIF by reactionseditor
 
I remember the days before content variety exploded, and you'd be stuck on some afternoon with only a few channels showing anything other than cooking shows where people clapped for souffles. And out of desperation, one would watch "Who's line is it anyway" where mildly talented people would do terrible improv routines, a la second city. It was so painful to watch. I still remember this feeling of sitting there and time just grinding to a halt, each moment an unbearable eternity within the tepid, milquetoast world of the show. With the right kind of eyes, you could almost see the world around your tv set becoming more dull and lifeless with each round of golf claps bequeathed onto a Q list celebrity for gesturing at a non existent stop sign or other verbally fabricated improv prop.

How long have I been watching this? A half hour, an hour? I check the time. It's been on for 3 minutes. In a half hour the quality of content will surge via an episode of News Radio that I've already seen 4 times. If I can just make it that far.

 
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It's both, but in a sense, they are spamming low grade content on both counts. Obviously they should get paid fairly for being on a syndicated show, but there's definitely a semantics issue when you use the same word for the "writing" on Who's Line as it anyway as one would for the "writing" in Nabokov's Pale Fire.
 
Not the point. The writing in general in non-traditional. I guess the question is, are the writers who write the one liners on the cards paid as writers? Because this show is co-written by all parties here.
 
I have no idea, but I suspect so. I'm imagining the the WGA extends protection to people that compose on paper, but not to those that compose verbally, but that's just a guess. People have always seen this strange distinction between the spoken and written word, like a sentence becomes something far more significant once you write it down.

Now I'm wondering if Bruce Willis got paid for writing half of Die Hard, since so much of the movie was ad-libbed.

If I'm remembering correctly they just had an 11 page script, and kind of made up the rest as they went along.
 
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Mochrie continued, “We provide the content but don’t get paid as ‘writers.’ We never received residuals for a show that’s been shown around the world since its inception. Seeing announcements about the sale to the show overseas or to HBO Max can get irritating.”
I reread the whole quote. Seems they don't get pad as writers, OR receive residuals, like principal actors usually get (stars of Friends, etc.). I guess they all get paychecks for their performances and it ends there. So the argument is, they write AND act, but are not paid how traditional writers (during the show) are paid, or key actors, after the fact. Kinda sucks to just be an employee.
 
No, allowing an actor to improve in your film does not make them a writer.
Just my opinion. If you started paying improv people as writers you're opening a huge can of worms.

They should have negotiated a better contract with residuals, the whole show lives or dies by the cast.
I'm a bit confused by how the four of them didn't band together in a union or something like 9 years ago to negotiate
 
Is it a game show? I don't even know lol.
 
If every person on this earth was Wayne Brady, I don't think we'd have wars any more, and it's up to us to make that happen.
 
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