Fans loved the Arrowverse team-ups, but some actors did not appreciate the terms. Actress Danielle Panabaker, best known for her role on "The Flash,"described long days, extra prep, cross-city moves and a paycheck that felt unacceptably small.
On the "Inside of You" podcast hosted by "Smallville" actor Michael Rosenbaum, Panabaker said recently the crossover workload often outweighed the rewards. Although "The Flash" wrapped after nine seasons, her account adds fresh detail about how those crossovers worked, who benefited and why some declined to appear.
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How The Crossover Pay Worked
Panabaker said guest work on other series was paid at a "top-of-show" rate, not at her series salary. Specifically, for "The Flash's" earliest "Arrow" tie-ins, she earned "less than $10,000."
At the time, she said contracts did not "bake" crossovers into the terms, so appearances were treated as guest spots rather than part of her main deal. She contrasted that amount with her pay for a regular episode of "The Flash."
"You're going to work twice as hard … and we're going to pay you a fraction of what you're paid to do that job on "The Flash,'" Panabaker said, adding that the logistics stretched both the cast and crew. While "The Flash" filmed in Vancouver and "Arrow" shot nearby, she noted that crossovers still required additional preparation and script pages.
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When Contracts Changed
As more series joined the shared universe, Panabaker said the studio standardized crossovers. Later deals included crossover clauses and pay increases, she said during the podcast episode. She said the math favored top-billed leads from other Arrowverse shows — Grant Gustin, Stephen Amell and Melissa Benoist — while supporting players saw little change.
Meanwhile, The CW Network, majority-owned by Nexstar Media Group Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST), staged events such as "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Episodes spanned multiple nights, increasing scheduling demands.
According to Panabaker, some actors declined crossovers and producers "wrote that person out" rather than revisit rates. In the early years, she described offers as treating crossover like outside gigs rather than extensions of principal contracts.
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Set Routines—and A New Mission
Panabaker described being "punctual and prepared," emphasizing how she valued knowing her lines and hitting call times. Yet she said that on some days "bad behavior was being rewarded," without naming individuals.
Despite her frustrations, she acknowledged the franchise delivered more than 180 episodes and opportunities to direct — even if directing wasn't her favorite aspect of working on "The Flash," she said during the podcast.
Today Panabaker has taken on a new role outside acting. "I'm thrilled to be partnering with Room to Read in their mission to nurture foundational learning skills in children all over the world," she said in a statement last week as she joined the global literacy nonprofit Room to Read as a global ambassador.
The organization, which promotes literacy and gender equality in education, welcomed her ahead of its Fill Every Shelf campaign, aimed at providing books to children in low-income communities.
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