Baywatch was one of the most successful TV shows in the world when it ran from the late 80s to the early 00s, but the stars discuss the fact that they weren’t paid very much for it.

The series ran for 11 seasons and followed a group of lifeguards in LA and attracted millions of viewers, but the actors said they did not receive the pay one would expect for such a high-profile series.

After Baywatch: Moment in the sun is a new Hulu documentary about the series, and some of the stars said they “freaked out” when they saw what they got for it.

Nicole Eggert, who played Roberta Quinn in Baywatchtold in the documentary how different things were compared to other shows, how Friends.

She said: “Back then they were offering each about $3,500 per show. Friends at that point, I think they were each making $1 million an episode.”

Some of the Baywatch cast admitted they didn’t earn as much as one would expect. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

“There is not a single rich actor on Baywatch. Not a single one. That’s odd, because on a successful television show, the wealth is always shared,” said Billy Warlock, who played Eddie Kramer on the show.

fellow Baywatch Star Erika Eleniak said she remembers “freaking out when she saw her first paycheck after taxes” and wondering how she was going to live on the money.

Back in the mid-90s Baywatch entered the Guinness Book of Records for the most watched television show of all time, attracting an estimated 1.1 billion viewers in 142 countries worldwide in 1996.

Despite this success, the show was apparently produced “on a very low budget,” according to screenwriter Michael Berk, who said they could not afford the high salaries of the actors.

Meanwhile, during this time on television, Jerry Seinfeld managed to get his fee for Seinfeld up to $500,000 per episode and then a whopping $1 million.

The main actors of Friends earned significantly more. (Warner Bros. Television/Getty Images)

Over Friends The main actors managed to negotiate higher salaries, and by the end of the show they too were earning $1 million per episode.

Depending on the fame of the actor and the role, you can earn a lot of money on television.

Eddie Redmayne is said to earn £1 million per episode for his role in the Sky Atlantic series Day of the Jackal.

Neil Patrick Harris earned £250,000 a week in the final stages of How I met your motherand this is only his salary, apart from royalties and other income.

Baywatch Although the stars were able to parlay their on-screen work into other lucrative contracts, they were still far below those of other major television stars of the time.

Outside of the main cast, other actors have shared how much they earn from their appearances on popular television shows, such as Stranger Things Actor Tristan Spohn played one of the test subjects in the Hawkins Lab.

He said he earned money from every episode of Stranger Things He played the lead role and about $10,000 of that was net earnings per episode.