Considering 'Modern Family' earned a whopping 14 Emmys nominations last week, you'd better believe that the stars of the show are going to want their overlords to pay through the nose for their talent. We'd previously heard a bit about the ongoing contract negotiations, but now a sudden twist has left the chairs empty for the show's first season 4 table read! What happened, and how long until it's resolved?

According to Deadline, the first official table-read for 'Modern Family' season 4 had to be scrapped at the last minute when producers feared key members of the cast might not show up while their lucrative contract negotiations go unresolved. Largely negotiating together, the six adult series leads continue to debate salary increases with 20th Century Fox TV, employing a similar strategy used with the leads of 'Friends' to garner eventually up to $1 million per episode apiece.

Whereas the principal cast, including Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara and Ed O’Neill, previously made between $30,000 and $60,000 an episode (O’Neill’s being the highest) though a 2011 bump put them closer to the range between $60,000 and $100,000. An impressive number, but still short of series like ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ which after additional negotiations pays its cast members between $200,000 and $250,000 an episode, not including occasional raises or pieces of the show’s back end.

For a time it had seemed that the six 'Modern Family' stars were close to a deal at $150,000 per episode, but currently to no avail. The production delay on the season mirrors that of previous incidents with the 'Everybody Loves Raymond' supporting cast, or even 'Malcolm in the Middle.' Things have reportedly gotten so bad, that the 'Modern Family' stars (minus Ed O'Neill) have opted to sue 20th Century Fox TV in order to void their contracts, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sheesh. Hope those Emmy nominations were worth it, folks. What say you? Do you think the cast of 'Modern Family' deserves a raise for season 4? Sound off in the comments below!

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