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Dylan Sprouse revealed that the only residual check he ever received for “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” the Disney Channel sitcom that made him and his twin brother Cole stars, was “for five cents,” despite the show’s
hit status during its three-season run.
In an interview on his Disney co-star Phil Lewis’ “Wildmen” podcast, the actor opened up about the financial situation of the show. (Lewis played hotel manager Mr. Moseby.) “In terms of the channel higher-ups, we were also kind of weirdly the ugly duckling,” Sprouse said. “We were extremely popular, but also extremely underfunded.” Lewis then explained that the cast signed contracts that made it so that they could film continuously in a calendar year, and despite how many episodes it was, be considered one season of TV. “They called it one season because they didn’t have to pay us bumps,” he said.
Sprouse then told Lewis he had something “that surprises people” that he “wanted to talk to” him about — his residuals. “The only residual check I’ve ever received for ‘The Suite Life’ at all was a crossover episode with ‘Hannah Montana’ for five cents. I’m not joking,” he said. “Imagine that. In a time where residuals would have been great,” Sprouse added, “Not a single paycheck for being arguably one of the most popular shows.”
He also noted that, back then, “there weren’t any streaming services,” so you could only watch a “certain amount of channels.” Sprouse continued: “And Disney Channel itself prided itself on being a channel where you could turn it on safely for kids, where there’s no advertisements, there’s no anything to cross over, and all you’re going to watch are shows at that age demographic.”
The series ran from 2005 to 2008 and followed the titular Zack and Cody as they lived at the Tipton Hotel with their single mother. It inspired a spinoff, “The Suite Life on Deck,” which aired from 2008 to 2011. Brenda Song, Debby Ryan, Erin Cardillo and more starred in the continuation.
