Sean Gunn, known for his role as Kirk in the popular TV series Gilmore Girls, has recently shown his support for the acting community by joining the SAG-AFTRA strike.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 49-year-old actor expressed his frustration with the minimal residuals that actors receive from streaming platforms. Gunn specifically highlighted his desire to protest against Netflix.
Although Gilmore Girls originally aired on The WB (later The CW) from 2000 to 2007, it later became available for streaming on Netflix. In 2016, a revival miniseries titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was released as a Netflix original.
Gunn explained his position, stating, "I was on a television show called Gilmore Girls for a long time that has brought in massive profits for Netflix. It has been one of their most popular shows for a very long time, over a decade. It gets streamed over and over and over again, and I see almost none of the revenue that comes into that."
The actor also criticized Netflix's co-CEOs, Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, alleging that they receive substantial bonuses while the content creators are left with minimal compensation. He called on the executives to "share the wealth" with those responsible for producing the series.
Gunn argued, “I don't understand why they can't lessen those bonuses to share the wealth more with the people who have created the content that has gotten them rich. It really is a travesty. And if the answer is, 'Well, this is just how business is done, this is just how corporate business works,' that sucks. That makes you a bad person.”
He emphasized the need for Netflix to reconsider its business practices and ensure fair distribution of wealth. Gunn warned that failure to do so could lead to dire consequences.
However, it is worth noting that Gunn's claims regarding his lack of "revenue" from Netflix may be inaccurate. The appropriate term would likely be "residuals," and these residuals are actually provided by Warner Bros. Discovery, the studio that produced and licensed Gilmore Girls to Netflix.