‘Simpsons’ Cast, Fox Reach Deal

Homer Simpson is about to get a big raise.

Twentieth Century Fox Television clinched a deal late Friday for cast members to return to “The Simpsons,” the animated hit currently in its 15th season on Fox Broadcasting Co.

Production halted in early April as the six actors who voice the characters sought nearly a tripling of their salaries -- already $125,000 each per episode -- plus a cut of the show’s profit. “The Simpsons” has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in syndicated profit for the studio.

Under the new four-year deal, the cast members will each get approximately $250,000 per episode, or $5.5 million a year, but no profit stake, sources said.

The actors are Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Harry Shearer and Yeardley Smith.

The studio said that despite the six-week delay, it intends to produce the full order of 22 episodes for the 2004-05 season.

“We couldn’t be happier to have reached a multiyear deal with the enormously talented cast of the Simpsons,” the studio said.