Mario Lopez has backed up Tiffani Thiessen after she offered a pretty bleak insight into how little the Saved by the Bell cast members now make in residuals. Despite being one of the defining teen shows of the ’90s, Thiessen recently revealed that the money she receives from playing Kelly Kapowski has essentially “dried out” – and her former co-star has now confirmed she’s not exaggerating. The topic of conversation came up on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio last week, where Thiessen was asked whether she still receives residuals from Saved by the Bell. “I think it’s dried out,” she said. “It’s like, negative now. It probably costs more to print the check.” On Wednesday, Mario – who played A.C. Slater for the show’s original run – shared E! News’ report on her comments, and simply wrote: “Real talk!” Real talk! pic.twitter.com/LH9IJjlV39 — Mario Lopez (@mariolopezviva) September 30, 2026 And while neither of them revealed exactly how much their latest residual cheques are worth, their comments are particularly surprising given just how successful Saved by the Bell was. Mario Lopez has previously revealed how much he made from Saved by the Bell In the same Page Six Radio interview, Thiessen explained that the cast had very little negotiating power while making the show. “We didn’t have pull on that show at all,” she said. “We made nothing and we just did our job.” She confirmed that they received “a little bit more” when Saved by the Bell moved to primetime, but added, “I didn’t start making real money until I went to [Beverly Hills] 90210” in 1994. And we actually have some idea of what those early Saved by the Bell salaries looked like. During a 2014 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Mario revealed that his salary started at just $1,500, before eventually rising to $3,500 per week by the end of the show. He pointed out at the time that Saved by the Bell was Saturday morning television rather than a primetime network series. Earlier this year, those numbers were revisited in Investigation Discovery’s Hollywood Demons: After the Bell, which explored the experiences of the young cast behind the hit sitcom. Child star manager Denise Simon said during the documentary, “Mario Lopez said he started out making about $1,500 an episode. That’s a lot of money to a kid.” However, she then put that salary into perspective, claiming that by its second season in 1991, Saved by the Bell was pulling in roughly $15 million in advertising. Credit: NBC Mario and Thiessen aren’t the only cast members to have spoken about the money, either. Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2019, Zack Morris actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar admitted the young cast “made really bad deals.” “Poor deals, back then,” he said. “It is what it is. You move on, you learn. Great experience.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Instagram/NBC Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
