Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Amazon’s $100 Million Mystery

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Phoebe Waller-Bridge has again demonstrated her exceptional skills in navigating corporate environments with finesse. The award-winning creator of the series “Fleabag” has renegotiated her agreement with Amazon Studios, making it her third contract with the streaming service since 2019. However, this time around, she’s shifting from an exclusive overall deal to a first-look one, which might appear more like a thoughtful adjustment rather than a triumphant renewal.

Phrases like these might help you simplify the text:

1. Waller-Bridge has received Amazon’s payments for almost six years now. It is said that she has earned tens of millions of dollars, yet she hasn’t produced a single TV show as per her contracts. None at all. Nothing. Amazon’s former CEO, Jennifer Salke, who endorsed this generous deal, justified it as a “long-term commitment.” In other words, Amazon paid her to spend time brainstorming ideas instead of producing content.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has made over $100 million from Amazon since 2019 through various agreements. She initially signed a three-year contract worth $20 million per year in September 2019, which was extended for another two years starting January 2023 at a similar high salary. In November 2024, she moved to a less lucrative “first-look” deal. The estimated $100 million+ encompasses her initial contract ($60 million) and the extension lasting until November 2024 ($60 million). The lower-paying deal is expected to contribute an undisclosed amount by April 2, 2025. The exact figures can be found in different reports, but specific payment details have not been fully disclosed to the public.

Although Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag received much praise in the past, her subsequent creative work has been inconsistent at best and disappointing at worst. She contributed to No Time to Die, a James Bond film that many believe was detrimental to the franchise, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a movie that seemed to end the Indiana Jones series on a sour note. Critics generally agree these projects are best forgotten. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, her character was often criticized as one of the film’s least successful aspects. Remarkably, she continues to be considered Amazon’s cash cow or perhaps more accurately, a “spent hen.

Her Amazon projects haven’t seen much success; for instance, the adaptation of Tomb Raider for Prime Video has been in development for a while and is said to have exhausted two teams of writers and tens of millions of dollars without even a completed script. Moreover, her partnership with Donald Glover on a Mr. & Mrs. Smith series ended due to creative disagreements, resulting in Glover finishing the project by himself.

She successfully completed one task on Amazon, which involved narrating an octopus documentary—a job that seems surprisingly suitable given her knack for holding onto this opportunity with all eight limbs. The production, called ‘Octopus!’, won’t premiere until next month, and it should be noted that she didn’t produce the project for the studio. However, this has earned her the title of the highest-paid voice actor in cinematic history.

It’s obvious we can’t overlook the situation: Amazon workers are protesting for improved wages and working conditions, yet their company invests heavily in such deals as this one. Perhaps Jeff Bezos should have opted for “Waller-Bridge Prime” if he desired quicker service when it comes to genuine content.

At this juncture, it’s hard not to ponder: is Phoebe Waller-Bridge perhaps privy to some confidential information about Amazon executives? Or could this be yet another instance of the entertainment industry bestowing fortunes on average talent without accountability? Regardless, she’s undeniably cashing in—and frankly, who could blame her? If companies are going to shower creators with cash without expecting outcomes, they ought to bear every dollar squandered.

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2025-04-03 18:30