Production of season 8 of the TheBig Bang Theory is yet to be confirmed as the stars of the show and its production company continue to wrangle over contract negotiations.

The Big Bang TheoryJim Parsons' character Sheldon Cooper is the show's stand-out comedy character

According to Deadline.com, the entire original cast have not signed new contracts and a major issue which is dragging the deal is thought to be the actors’ pay-per-episode amount.

For season 7, the big three, Leonard, Sheldon and Penny - played by Johnny Galecki, Jim Parson and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting - earned a whopping $350,000 per episode.

It has been suggested, as the latest round of negotiations continue and in line with the huge rise in popularity of the show, the main cast could demand up to $1million per 22 minutes of televisual viewing.

Kaley CuocoKaley Cuoco-Sweeting [R] is said to want $1million per episode for the hit show

This situation bears resemblance to that of the cast of Friends, who settled on a whopping $1million per episode contract for seasons 9 and 10 of the hit show.

Comparisons have consequently been made between the two comedies as the popularity of The Big Bang Theory reaches the Friends fever-pitch of the early 2000s.

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Next page: Are the Big Bang Theory stars really worth $1 million?