Mario Lopez echoed Tiffani Thiessen’s recent claim about their paltry residuals for “Saved by the Bell,” confirming the checks are “sometimes less than the postage.”
The actor explained to the Daily Mail earlier this month that he and his co-stars, who appeared on the NBC show between 1989 and 1993, did not get “the best deal.”
He speculated that the series airing on Saturday mornings instead of primetime may explain the “big difference” in the earnings they now receive.
He added, “A lot of people think just ’cause you come out of TV and stuff, you’re set. That’s not always the case. Not everybody’s making that sort of ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Friends’-type money from that era.”
However, the former “Access Hollywood” host, who played A.C. Slater, clarified, “I have nothing but pleasant memories and a great experience. … It provided a lot of the opportunities that I’m able to kind of have today.”
Thiessen, 52, shared a similar sentiment on Page Six Radio in September, confessing “Saved by the Bell” money had “dried up.”
The actress, who played Kelly Kapowski, said, “It’s, like, negative now. It costs more to print the check. … We didn’t have pull on that show. We made nothing and we just did our job.”
She noted that when the series “went primetime for one season, [they] got a little bit more.”
Lopez retweeted Thiessen’s quotes at the time, writing via X that the “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum was delivering “real talk.”
When the former “Extra” host elaborated to the Daily Mail, he doubled down on his claim that Thiessen “wasn’t lying” — and joked they “always laugh about” their residuals woes.
Lopez went on to say he didn’t expect their candid comments to get “picked up everywhere.”
Their residuals chatter made headlines on the heels of child star manager Denise Simon revealing in the “Hollywood Demons” docuseries that Lopez started out making about $1,500 an episode.”
The show, meanwhile, “pull[ed] in roughly $15 million in advertising” after Season 2,” Simon said.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played Zach Morris, has also spilled in recent years on the “really bad deals” he and his castmates made.
“It is what it is. You move on, you learn,” the 52-year-old said on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” in 2019 — before insisting he had a “great experience” on set.
The post Mario Lopez lifts lid on dismal ‘Saved by the Bell’ residuals after co-star Tiffani Thiessen’s confession appeared first on Page Six.
