Greer Grammer Shares Importance of Residuals as She Opens Paltry Checks for Awkward
Paul Dailly
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Greer Grammer is speaking out about the residual checks she gets sent for her work on MTV's Awkward.
Grammer played Lissa Miller as a recurring player on the comedy series' first two seasons before being elevated to a series regular for the final three seasons.
Greer took to TikTok to open residual checks on camera to support the SAG-AFTRA strike.
"Let's open some streaming residuals," she said at the top of the video.
"So, I just got all these bad boys in the mail today and I figured since there have been so many discussions about streaming residuals with the SAG strike going on, that I would do some live opening on what mine actually are right now."
The actress picked one and opened it before saying:
"Awkward, 'Are You there, God? It's Me, Jenna.' Total gross: .80 cents. Oh, actually, that's what this [paystub] says, but the check is actually for .50 cents."
Grammer, the daughter of Kelsey Grammer and Barrie Buckner, said that residuals are "basically the closest thing we get to job stability."
"Residuals are so important because they can go toward our health insurance, helping us qualify for that."
"'Be an actor,' they said; 'You'll make money,' they said!" she said with a laugh.
"Actually, let's be honest, nobody said that. It's called 'starving artist' for a reason."
Still, the paltry numbers on the checks aren't the worst she's had.
"These are actually better than most - usually they're for 0.01," she wrote alongside the eye-opening video.
"Some years are more lucrative than others, like 2015, I finished a TV series, and I did multiple movies, so that was like a good year for me," the former MTV star wrote.
"And then there have been years where I've only booked two movies or one movie, and my residuals are what help me, like, keep living my life so that I can audition and make acting my full-time job still."
SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike in July, months after the Writers Guild of America.
Both unions will remain on strike until a fair deal is reached for the talent who brings these great projects to life.
What are your thoughts on the residuals?
Are you surprised by how low the checks are?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
