{"id":1959672,"date":"2025-08-14T08:10:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T08:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1959672"},"modified":"2025-08-14T08:10:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T08:10:03","slug":"the-12-tv-shows-with-the-highest-paid-actors-per-episode-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-12-tv-shows-with-the-highest-paid-actors-per-episode-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"The 12 TV shows with the highest paid actors per episode ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Signing up for The Big Bang Theory spin-off asap<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

We all now that some of the actors on the biggest TV shows are, of course, extremely wealthy.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s some shows that have paid there stars far more than others \u2013 yes, we\u2019re talking about more than one million dollars per episode.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the highest-paying TV<\/a> shows of all time, and what their actors\u2019 salaries would be worth in 2025.<\/p>\n

12. The Big Bang Theory<\/h2>\n

By the end of the US sitcom\u2019s 12-season run, its five original stars were taking away a sizeable pay package. Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar all earned $1m per episode \u2013 $1.26m when adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n

For Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik, who both first appeared in season three, they were reportedly on $425,000 in the final seasons.<\/p>\n

However, one star of the show could also soon be returning for a newly greenlit spin-off<\/a> of the hit series.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Big Bang Theory stars earned $1m per episode (via Netflix)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

11. The Sopranos<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

via NOW TV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ranked eighth on IMDB\u2019s list<\/a> of top TV show of all time, the late James Gandolfini similarly earned as much as $1m per episode for his role as mafia boss Tony Soprano \u2013 $1.57m in today\u2019s money.<\/p>\n

According to his co-star Steve Schirripa<\/a>, Gandolfini also received a further $3m one-off payment from network HBO to turn down a role on sitcom The Office \u2013 a role which eventually went to Steve Carell.<\/p>\n

10. The Terminal List<\/h2>\n
\"highest<\/p>\n

via Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

One of few modern shows on the list \u2013 Amazon Prime\u2019s action series with Chris Pratt paid the star $1.4m (which would now be equivalent to $1.7m)<\/p>\n

9. Friends<\/h2>\n
\"highest<\/p>\n

via Netflix<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As the sitcom\u2019s popularity increased, so did the salaries of the six Friends actors. From receiving $22,500 per episode when it started in 1994, the stars progressed to another $1m pay package for the show\u2019s final two seasons. Adjusted for inflation, that\u2019s a massive $1.74m.<\/p>\n

In their final outing as a group, they were each reportedly paid a further $2.5 million for the 2019 reunion episode.<\/p>\n

8. Mad About You<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

via Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This was a 90s US sitcom about a married couple in New York City starring Oscar-winning Helen Hunt and Stranger Things star Paul Reiser.<\/p>\n

They were both paid $1m per episode for the show\u2019s final season \u2013 $1.96m if it was in 2025.<\/p>\n

7. Seinfeld<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

via Netflix<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Another popular 90s sitcom, Seinfeld star Jerry Seinfeld also latterly received the coveted $1m per episode ($1.98m inflation-adjusted)<\/p>\n

Co-stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards all took home a smaller $600,000 per episode, although this would now be equivalent to $1.1m.<\/p>\n

6. The Morning Show<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

Jennifer Aniston in The Morning Show (via Apple TV)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Appearing in the list for the second time is Jennifer Aniston who, alongside Reese Witherspoon, is reportedly paid $2m per episode for Apple TV\u2019s The Morning Show. The fourth season will air later this year.<\/p>\n

5. Frasier<\/h2>\n
\"highest<\/p>\n

via Channel 4<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kelsey Grammer played psychiatrist and radio host Dr Frasier Crane in the recently-rebooted sitcom. The actor got $1.6million per episode for this in 2003, which would nowadays be a decent $2.78m.<\/p>\n

4. Home Improvement<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

via Disney+<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Don\u2019t recognise it? You\u2019ll probably know its star Tim Allen (aka the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story films). He was paid $1.5m per episode for playing the dad of the Taylor family back in the 90s. That fee would now be just short of $3 million: $2.9m.<\/p>\n

3. Everybody Loves Raymond<\/h2>\n
\"highest<\/p>\n

via Channel 4<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In the final seasons of the sitcom, lead actor Ray Romano negotiated a controversial pay uplift which saw a dispute due to the disparity with other cast members. Eventually resolved with new contract negotiations, Romano still received his groundbreaking $1.8million per episode ($2.98m in 2025).<\/p>\n

2. Two and a Half Men<\/h2>\n
\"highest<\/p>\n

via ITVX<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Just missing out on the top spot for highest paid actor per TV episode is Charlie Sheen.<\/p>\n

Prior to the termination of his contract in 2011, he was reportedly paid $2m per episode in his final season on the show ($2.9m in 2025).<\/p>\n

Taking over the lead role, Ashton Kutcher received $755,000 per episode ($1.02m in 2025).<\/p>\n

1. Sex and the City<\/h2>\n

And just like that\u2026 we\u2019re at the number one spot on the list. For her role as Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker supposedly earned $3.2m per episode. This is a massive $5.55 million in 2025, making her easily the highest paid TV actor per episode on this list.<\/p>\n

Her co-stars Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, and Kim Cattrall were allegedly paid far less: $350,000.<\/p>\n

\"highest<\/p>\n

Sarah Jessica Parker was the highest paid star (via HBO)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The returning trio for new series And Just Like That, however, are apparently on an even pay of $1m per episode.<\/p>\n

Inflation figures measured from final month of a show\u2019s recording to May 2025.<\/p>\n

Featured image via HBO\/Netflix<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source thetab.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Signing up for The Big Bang Theory spin-off asap We all now that some of the actors on the biggest TV shows are, of course, extremely wealthy. But there\u2019s some shows that have paid there stars far more than others \u2013 yes, we\u2019re talking about more than one million dollars per episode. Here are some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1959673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[25317,22367,23301,23191,21913],"class_list":["post-1959672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-apple-tv","tag-celebrity","tag-disney","tag-netflix","tag-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-12-TV-shows-with-the-highest-paid-actors-per.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1959672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1959673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1959672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1959672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1959672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}