rather than this stupid fucking snip snap game where, instead of, as a user being able to buy into a company that’s building a massive, marvelous, library-of-alexandria-core archive of every good show ever made, you’re paying into some shitty ephemeral bullshit made by stupid greedy dickheads who have no fucking sense
It actually sounds like you’re agreeing with me- they cancel the show to avoid paying out. The contracts are written in a way that it can be used to screw them.
Season 6 is more common, since that’s when contracts typically come up for renegotiation. Friends famously almost ended because the actors demanded what they were worth. The studios launched a smear campaign by “leaking” how overpaid the actors were.
TV shows do have a fundamental difference from most movies in that it’s an ongoing operation. With movies, nearly everything has to be completed before release. There is more of an element of risk, since you don’t know how popular it will actually be. Once it’s been released, or you’re 6 seasons into a show, that’s pretty well known. Everyone wants their cut, and they know exactly the pie is.
Same end result, the money doesn’t come from the gross though. Well, it does indirectly cos the studio has to get the money from somewhere, but their contracts usually aren’t written in such a manner as they directly get the gross percentage straight to their bank account like a movie actor would (if movies ever actually made any money on the books). Which is all rather simplified, but I think it illustrates what I mean.
As for the contract length, yes the standard sign on time is 5yrs, but those contracts are renegotiated at the end of every season. There is a term for the conditions kicking in I referred to earlier but I’ve forgotten it and my google fu is failing me. Not every actors contract has them, but many do. To follow the friends example, kinda a moo point though, the point is that they get screwed if the studio can get away with it.