Who Are TV's Top Earners?

If you're an actor who lands a lead role on a TV series, you can count on a big payday. But it won't be as big as it used to be.



Network and studio executives tell TV Guide Magazine they've adopted a get-tough policy on salaries for stars of the new fall shows. While the salary for a lead has been $150,000 to $200,000 per episode in recent years, most deals for stars of new series were between $75,000 and $125,000. "No one broke the bank on anything this year," says one former studio head.

A case in point is a negotiation with a veteran film actor who for years has been coveted by several networks to do series TV. He was in discussions for a lead role in one of the new dramas that made the fall schedule. His asking price was $250,000. The network and the studio said no way. When the actor refused to go below $200,000, the network and studio moved on and hired someone else.

Why the hard line? The broadcast networks have been in a cost-cutting mode since ad revenues were hard-hit by the recession. While the ad market is recovering, they are also coping with a changing long-term financial picture as DVR playback and online viewing have greatly diminished the ratings on the second network run of shows, once the source of windfall profits.

There is an effort to keep talent costs down on their veteran hits as well. ABC's Brothers & Sisters, which once had four actors earning $150,000 or more per episode, will lose Rob Lowe and have only 18 episodes next season instead of the typical 22. Some regulars will appear in fewer episodes. Marg Helgenberger's new deal with CSI also calls for her to have a lighter workload next season and helps to trim the show's budget in the face of declining ratings.

If a show is on the rise, it's a different story. The stars of The Big Bang Theory—Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco—all currently make well under $100,000 per episode. Their bank accounts are about to benefit from the show's rise to the top of Nielsen rankings among viewers in the 18 to 49 age group and a successful sale into syndication. "I think they'll give an extra year to their studio, Warner Bros., in exchange for each of them getting $150,000 to $200,000 an episode," says one network executive. "They'll get bumps from there and could get up to $300,000 an episode. If it's a hit show, you start paying."

Additional reporting by William Keck and Michael Schneider
The top earners, by category:
Drama (per episode)
Hugh Laurie (House) $400,000+Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) $395,000 (each)David Caruso (CSI: Miami) $375,000Marg Helgenberger (CSI) $375,000Mark Harmon (NCIS) $375,000Laurence Fishburne (CSI) $350,000Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)  $350,000Denis Leary (Rescue Me) $350,000Gary Sinise (CSI: NY ) $275,000Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy)  $250,000David Boreanaz (Bones) $200,000Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) $200,000Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife ) $175,000Dana Delany (Body of Proof ) $150,000Lauren Graham (Parenthood) $150,000Jada Pinkett Smith (HawthoRNe) $150,000Jimmy Smits (Outlaw) $150,000LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles) $125,000Chris O'Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles) $125,000Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) $125,000Jason Lee (Memphis Beat) $125,000Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds) $125,000Tom Selleck (Blue Bloods) $125,000Michael Weatherly (NCIS) $125,000Matt Bomer (White Collar) $100,000Nathan Fillion (Castle) $100,000Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds) $100,000Jon Hamm (Mad Men) $100,000Cole Hauser (Chase)  $100,000Alex O'Loughlin (Hawaii Five-0) $100,000Timothy Olyphant (Justified  ) $100,000Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0) $80,000Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles) $75,000Anna Paquin (True Blood) $75,000Blair Underwood (The Event) $75,000Zachary Levi (Chuck) $60,000Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) $40,000Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) $40,000Ashley Tisdale (Hellcats) $30,000
Late Night/Talk Syndication (per year)
Oprah Winfrey $315 millionJudge Judy Sheindlin $45 millionDavid Letterman (The Late Show) $28 millionJay Leno (The Tonight Show) $25 millionConan O'Brien (The Conan O'Brien Show) $10 millionEllen DeGeneres (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) $8 millionJimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) $6 millionChelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately) $3.5 millionGeorge Lopez (Lopez Tonight) $3.5 million
Reality (per year)
Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) $15 millionJoel McHale (The Soup) $2 millionPiers Morgan (America's Got Talent) $2 millionKate Gosselin (Kate Plus 8) $250,000 per episodeNicole "Snooki" Polizzi (Jersey Shore) $30,000 per episode
Comedy (per episode)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) $1.25 millionJon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) $550,000Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) $400,000Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) $400,000Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) $400,000Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives) $400,000Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) $400,000Julie Kavner (The Simpsons) $400,000Tina Fey (30 Rock) $350,000Jeremy Piven (Entourage) $350,000Steve Carell (The Office) $297,000Angus T. Jones (Two and a Half Men) $250,000David Duchovny (Californication) $200,000Kevin Dillon (Entourage) $200,000Adrian Grenier (Entourage) $200,000Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) $180,000Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) $175,000William Shatner ($#*! My Dad Says) $150,000David Spade (Rules of Engagement) $150,000Ed O'Neill (Modern Family) $100,000Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) $85,000Betty White (Hot in Cleveland) $75,000Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000Ty Burrell (Modern Family) $50,000Jane Lynch (Glee) $50,000Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) $40,000Matthew Morrison (Glee) $30,000Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) $30,000Dylan and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) $20,000 (each)Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) $15,000
News (per year)
Matt Lauer (Today)  $16 million +Katie Couric (CBS) $15 millionBrian Williams (NBC) $12.5 millionDiane Sawyer (ABC) $12 millionMeredith Vieira (Today) $11 millionBill O'Reilly (Fox News) $10 millionGeorge Stephanopoulos (ABC) $8 millionKeith Olbermann (MSNBC) $7 millionShepard Smith (Fox News) $7 millionWolf Blitzer (CNN) $3 millionChristiane Amanpour (ABC) $2 millionLawrence O'Donnell (MSNBC) $2 millionEliot Spitzer (CNN) $500,000