Popular TV Shows And How Much Their Cast Earns

Millions of people watch and anticipate popular TV shows each and every week. TV shows are a great way for people to unwind and relieve stress, and it’s also a great way for an actor to earn a lot of money. The most popular TV shows stay on the network list for years and years to come. These are what people call a cash cow, and you’d want to milk a cow for as much as you can, right? Some of the most popular TV shows stay on the air for years and the more popular the show, the more money the actors earn. Being on the right show, you’ll be able to earn a ton of money in each episode that would take you years to earn otherwise. Here’s a list of the most popular TV shows of all time, and how much money their casts earned per episode.

The Main Cast of Friends Still Earn $20 Million Each Yearly

The cast of Friends at the 54th Emmy Awards

Friends ran from 1994 up until 2004; that’s 10 seasons, 236 episodes, spanning 10 years. It is one of the most popular TV shows ever. According to People Magazine, the main cast, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer started out only earning $22,500 an episode. But as the show became more and more popular, it turned the stars into one of the highest paid TV show actors of all time. During the shows 9th and 10th season, the six main cast were earning $1 million per episode. Even today, the show still earns $1 billion dollars for Warner Bros. which means that the main cast earns $20 million dollars each, every year for doing absolutely nothing.

Charlie Sheen Earns $1.8 Million Per Episode Before Being Fired From Two and a Half Men

“Two and a Half Men” cast members, Jon Cryer, Angus T.

Two and a Half Men ran for 12 seasons, from 2003 up until 2015. The three leading men earned different salaries for each episode. If you’re a fan of the show, then you know that Charlie Harper is rich while Alan Harper is barely able to scrape by. In real life, the actor who played Alan, Jon Cryer was able to make $620,000 per episode in 2013 after getting a well-deserved raise, while Angus T. Jones made (Jake Harper) $350,000 per episode in 2012. Charlie Sheen, on the other hand, was earning a whopping $1.8 million per episode in 2010 up until being fired in 2011. It seems that Charlie is really the one who makes the big bucks in the show and in real life. Ashton Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen as one of the main cast of the show, and he was being paid $755,000 per episode.

Game of Thrones Main Stars Reported Earning $2.5 Million Per Episode

Game of Thrones is one of the most popular, or maybe even the most popular TV show today. Since its debut in 2011 the show has already been a huge hit, but in the more recent season, the show has become even more popular. The shows main cast, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau were reported to have landed a deal for $1.1 million per episode, and reports say that they will be earning percentages of the syndication payments, which will make them earn up to $2.5 million per episode. If these reports are true, then it makes them the highest paid actors in TV history, but the show will have shorter seasons, with season 7 only having 7 episodes and season 8 with 6 episodes.

The Walking Dead Cast Were Earning Lower Than Expected

The cast of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” fools around for a photo shoot

The Walking Dead premiered back in 2010 and became an instant hit for AMC. The show is very popular worldwide so you would expect that the stars were earning a ton of money per episode, but reports say that Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, were only earning$90,000 and $80,000 per episode respectively. The other cast members of the show were even earning considerably lower than them.

It may be due to the fact that the show could kill off characters that’s why the actors were afraid to demand a raise. But thanks to recent renegotiations, reports say that Reedus will be earning $550,000 per episode and Lincoln will be receiving $618,000 per episode. We just hope that they give a raise for the other stars of the show.

The Big Bang Theory Main Cast Helps Out Co-Stars

The cast of CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory”

The Big Bang Theory has been on the air since 2007, and it is currently in its 11th season, with season 12 confirmed. The main cast members, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar were earning $1 million per episode back in 2014 but decided to do a voluntary pay cut to $900,000 per episode in order to help out co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch. Mayim and Mellisa were only earning $175,000 to $200,000 per episode, but after recent renegotiations, they are now earning $500,000 per episode.