Degrassi Actors And Writers Say They've Received Zero Residuals From Streaming

It's still unclear as to when or if streaming services will agree to a deal with the WGA or the SAG-AFTRA.

Drake (3rd from L) poses with "Degrassi" co-stars Daniel Clark, Adamo Ruggiero and Lauren Collins at the screening of "We Are Disorderly" held at the Royal Cinema on August 5, 2015 in Toronto, Canada.
George Pimentel / WireImage
Drake (3rd from L) poses with "Degrassi" co-stars Daniel Clark, Adamo Ruggiero and Lauren Collins at the screening of "We Are Disorderly" held at the Royal Cinema on August 5, 2015 in Toronto, Canada.

As the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue, many writers and actors have taken to social media to show just how little they've made off royalties since the pivot to streaming began.

Sean Reycraft, one of the writers of Degrassi, took to Twitter to show that he made nothing off of the reruns of the show that aired across three individual networks on Christmas Day.

"Christmas Day, there were marathons of the season I’d written for (the season Drake was shot) running across THREE SEPARATE NETWORKS. We see zip," Reycraft wrote.

What Jake says.

Christmas Day, there were marathons of the season I’d written for (the season Drake was shot) running across THREE SEPARATE NETWORKS. We see zip. https://t.co/TXXBhWqGDn

— Sean Reycraft (@seanreycraft) September 5, 2023
Twitter: @seanreycraft

Reycraft quoted a tweet from veteran Degrassi actor Jake Goldbie, who played Toby Isaacs for nearly a decade, that explained that after Amazon acquired the rights to Degrassi, they posted multiple ads for the show which ultimately leads to no money going the actors' or the writers' way.

All of Degrassi was put on Amazon Prime a few weeks ago, banner ads all over my TV. We also made $0. The system is bad, folks. https://t.co/ossCEmvWWt

— Jake Goldsbie (@JGoldsbie) September 5, 2023
Twitter: @JGoldsbie

Goldsbie's comments stemmed from a video in which Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul critized streaming services for not issuing any form of residuals when paying for the rights to shows.

Aaron Paul revealed that he earns $0 in residuals from streaming despite BREAKING BAD doing constant numbers for streamers. "I don't get a piece from Netflix on BREAKING BAD to be totally honest and that's insane to me." #AMPTP pic.twitter.com/iqiz2yVy50

— Todd Spence (@Todd_Spence) September 4, 2023
Twitter: @Todd_Spence

Another Degrassi actor, Ephraim Ellis, agreed with Goldsbie. As did other Degrassi alums.

I say again, for those in the back https://t.co/uaY6S0j8HP

— Ephraim Ellis (@ephraimellis) September 5, 2023
Twitter: @ephraimellis

LISTEN UP, Degrassi alum speaking

System is DOGSHIT https://t.co/Cml8tpNprr

— James Is ON STRIKE (@ScriptsByJames) September 5, 2023
Twitter: @ScriptsByJames

While there doesn't seem to be a clear end in sight for the strikes, many of the biggest actors have supported the strike with actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, and George Clooney donating $1 million to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Financial Assistance Program.

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