Ally McBeal

Networks invest in less-famous faces

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- With TV viewership and profits at record lows, the networks are no longer indulging in stars' whims, preferring instead to invest in less famous faces for the fall season.

Among the recent big-star casualty list, "The Closer," starring Tom Selleck, "The Gregory Hines Show," "George & Leo," starring Bob Newhart and Judd Hirsch; as well as Ann Margeret's show "Four Corners," which insiders quickly dubbed "Four Viewers."

George & Leo

It also hasn't been lost on TV executives that out of all of the shows last season, the one that really hit it big was the ensemble cast of Fox's "Ally McBeal."

"The success of a show has nothing to do with face recognition," explains "Ally" cast member Peter MacNichol. "Critics dance of the grave of 50 shows every year headlined by well-known personalities."

What also may have caught the network bosses attention is that "Ally's" cast of unknowns not only got paid around $40,000 an episode instead of a big-star demand of $150,000, but there were also no stars demanding script approval or ownership rights.

That's why for the fall season, the networks are finding themselves looking for scripts instead of relying on famous faces.

"It also doesn't force you to make bad deals on people who maybe don't have hits in them," says NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer.

With so many bad investments on the line, the networks are beginning to play hardball.

When Melanie Griffith and Mary Tyler Moore delivered weak scripts, the network bosses demanded rewrites. When Bette Midler wanted a reported $300,000 an episode, ABC said "Adios!"

"Nobody wants to pay Bette Midler because she's not a sure things," explains Greg Fagan of TV Guide. "In another era, (networks) would have given people whatever they wanted. These days, the bottom line is much more significantly important because of the eroding audience."

Yet some feel the stars aren't always to blame for failed series attempts.

"The mistake is, a lot of times they'll put you together with a producer and they'll give you one lunch and it's 'Go have lunch. Oh, nice to meet you and can you write' and that's all they have to go on. It's all these shotgun weddings," explains actor Drew Carey.

Nonetheless, in this TV climate, any star who expects a big paycheck may find themselves being forced to get it the old-fashioned way. They'll have to earn it.