The sign on Central Perk now says, ''Open for Business.'' NBC's Friends (who are demanding $100,000 per episode) returned to the set Aug. 12. But even as the cast attended a read-through for the first two episodes, a new contract had not been signed. ''There is no deal,'' said a Warner Bros. spokesman at press time. The actors had no comment on the negotiations, but the studio reportedly offered each star $80,000 an episode with raises every year. Though it was, um, a friendly reading, no one apparently whistled while they worked.


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