(Image courtesy of Disney)
Disney Channel sitcom "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," which aired from 2005 to 2008, remains a childhood favorite for countless young viewers. Behind those fond memories, however, were struggles that remained largely unknown for years. Brenda Song, who played London Tipton, and Dylan Sprouse, who starred as Zack Martin, recently opened up about the highs and lows of making the series.
Sprouse recently acknowledged on his podcast "Wildmen" that the cast earned surprisingly little from the show. He said their situation was unusual from the network’s perspective: Despite the series’ enormous popularity, it remained severely underfunded. Phill Lewis, who played Mr. Moseby and joined Sprouse for the interview, explained that Disney’s contracts allowed the company to shoot multiple seasons’ worth of episodes within a single year while classifying all of them as one season. According to Lewis, that structure meant the cast did not receive the additional compensation they otherwise would have earned.
Sprouse also revealed that his residuals from the series—payments generated by reruns, licensed television and streaming releases, home-video sales and other uses—were virtually nonexistent. He said the only residual check he ever received from "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" came from its crossover episode with "Hannah Montana," and it was worth just five cents. Sprouse stressed that he was not joking, noting how difficult it was to comprehend earning almost nothing in residuals from what was arguably one of television’s most popular shows of its era.
Song similarly recalled that the most difficult part of that period was being “underpaid and overworked.” Still, she credited Disney with giving the cast the opportunities that ultimately allowed them to reunite and have these conversations years later, making it difficult for her to complain about the experience entirely.