A debate has erupted around the successful Prime Video series "Off Campus" regarding possible gender-based pay inequality. The trigger was alleged salaries from the first season that a podcast had made public. However, series creator and co-showrunner Louisa Levy vehemently disputes the figures.
Levy responded to the Instagram video from the podcast "In the Vault" in the comments section. "Check your sources. These numbers are not accurate at all", she emphasized. "This is definitely an issue in the industry, and as a showrunner, I advocate for gender pay equity in my ensemble", she wrote, adding a red heart emoji.
What the podcast claimed
In the podcast, host Ali Gray and co-host Shane Sutherland had discussed the pay in the young ensemble and named specific figures for the eight episodes of the first season. According to them, lead actor Belmont Cameli allegedly earned the most at $30,000 per episode. Josh Heuston, who will no longer be part of the continuation, allegedly received $25,000 per episode, totaling $200,000 for the season. For Stephen Kalyn and Antonio Cipriano, $15,000 per episode each was mentioned, totaling $120,000. Actor Jalen Thomas Brooks was not mentioned in the video.
For the female colleagues, the mentioned sums were lower. Lead actress Ella Bright and Mika Abdalla, who will be the focus in the second season, allegedly received $20,000 per episode each according to the podcast, totaling $160,000. All amounts are expressly unconfirmed rumors. There is no official confirmation of the actual salaries.
Second season already in production
Filming for the second season of "Off Campus" is already underway. The source material is the novel "The Score" by author Elle Kennedy. The focus is on the love story between the characters Allie Hayes, played by Mika Abdalla, and Dean Di Laurentis, portrayed by Stephen Kalyn.
