Lark Voorhies, from bottom left, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Dustin Diamond, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Mark-Paul Gosselaar pose for a cast photo from their series “Saved by the Bell.”
The Emmy-nominated actress, who starred as head cheerleader Kelly Kapowski on the iconic teen sitcom, opened up about the show’s residual payments in a new interview on Page Six Radio, released Thursday, Sept. 24.
“I think it’s dried out,” Thiessen, 52, told hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real. “It’s like, negative now. It probably costs more to print the check.”
Thiessen was 15 when she was cast on “Saved by the Bell,” a coming-of-age comedy about a group of teens attending Bayside High School. The burgeoning actress was brought in as a new cast member, alongside costars Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley, to revamp the show from its original format, the short-lived Disney Channel series “Good Morning, Miss Bliss.” The trio joined the sitcom’s residing stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond and Lark Voorhies.
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The NBC series, which ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1993, became a ratings smash in the Saturday morning slot, inspiring the TV network to launch its Teen NBC programming block, which focused on live-action shows geared toward adolescent viewers. The show spawned a pair of spinoffs, “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” as well as two TV movies.
In 2020, the sitcom was revived for a new generation with the Peacock series “Saved by the Bell,” which saw Thiessen reprise her role for several episodes alongside her former castmates.
However, Thiessen said the show’s success didn’t necessarily translate to big bucks.
“We didn’t have pull on that show at all,” Thiessen said on Page Six Radio. “We made nothing, and we just did our job.”
TV actors typically receive residuals when their show is used beyond what is “covered by initial compensation”: when it re-airs, comes out on video/DVD and is broadcast in syndication, according to SAG-AFTRA, the labor union covering screen and radio performers.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum added that she “didn’t start making real money until” she became a series regular on the Aaron Spelling teen drama, playing Valerie Malone from 1994 to 1998.
Thiessen isn’t the only sitcom star to get candid on the reality of residuals.
“Full House” actress Jodie Sweetin revealed during an April appearance on “The McBride Rewind” podcast that she received “a one-cent check the other day” as part of her meager royalties from starring as middle child Stephanie Tanner on the ’90s sitcom.
“There’s no syndication anymore because it’s all in streaming,” Sweetin said. “Who gets paid for that? Nobody gets paid for that.”
