20 Highest-Paid TV Actors Of All Time

by

Top Hollywood actors earn significant income for their work on popular TV shows. Some move from one project to the next, while others stay with a series for many years. Generally, the longer an actor is on a show, the more they earn. Landing a leading role in a successful cable or streaming series usually means a substantial paycheck.

It’s common for TV actors to make a few thousand dollars per episode, but some now earn millions, which is incredible. This makes you wonder if all actors on a show get paid the same amount. From networks like HBO and ABC, these performers are truly the best in the business, and they’re being handsomely rewarded.

Sarah Jessica Parker:Sex And The City Franchise

$3.2 Million – Sex And The City, $1 Million – And Just Like That

Sarah Jessica Parker is famous for playing Carrie Bradshaw in HBO’s Sex and the City, and she earned the most money of any actress on television for that role. Cosmopolitan recently revealed just how much Parker made while filming SATC, showing a huge increase in her salary over the show’s run.

Sarah Jessica Parker earned $50 million for the first three seasons of SATC. When the show began its fourth season, her salary increased to $3.2 million per episode, as she also took on a role as producer. She continued to earn this amount through the show’s sixth and final season, bringing her total earnings for seasons four through six to $147 million.

Sarah Jessica Parker earned $15 million for the first Sex and the City movie and $20 million for the second. She later reprised her role as Carrie in the And Just Like That sequel series, reportedly earning $1 million per episode, though the show proved divisive among viewers.

Reese Witherspoon & Jennifer Aniston: The Morning Show

$2 Million

Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, the stars of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, are among the highest-paid actresses on television. US Weekly reports that both women earn $2 million per episode, not only as the show’s co-anchors but also as executive producers. With four seasons and ten episodes each, their earnings add up to roughly $20 million per season.

Charlie Sheen: Two And A Half Men

$1.8 Million

While often in the headlines for his personal life, Charlie Sheen achieved major success playing the charming and mischievous Charlie Harper on the popular sitcom Two and a Half Men. At his peak, he was the highest-paid actor on television, earning $1.8 million per episode, according to Uproxx.

Charlie Sheen was fired from Two and a Half Men during its eighth season after asking for a $3 million per episode salary and publicly criticizing the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre.

Ray Romano: Everybody Loves Raymond

$1.8 Million

Look, as far as TV sitcom stars go, Ray Romano is truly one of the best. He really broke through with Everybody Loves Raymond, where he played this wonderfully relatable sports writer, Ray Barone. The show was hilarious because it perfectly captured the chaos of family life – especially dealing with his incredibly loud and overbearing family on Long Island. It’s a classic for a reason!

I was reading in the LA Times that Ray Romano was making a whopping $1.8 million per episode by season eight of Everybody Loves Raymond! It’s amazing to think the show lasted nine seasons, with each season having somewhere between sixteen and twenty-six episodes. It really was a long run!

Kelsey Grammer: Frasier

$1.6 Million

Kelsey Grammer once held the record for the highest-paid TV actor, thanks to his role as Frasier Crane in the popular spin-off Frasier, which originated from Cheers. During the final two seasons of the show, he reportedly earned $1.6 million per episode (according to Parade). On top of that, Grammer continues to earn around $13 million annually from royalties.

Chris Pratt: The Terminal List

$1.4 Million

Chris Pratt is famous for his roles in major movie series like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Jurassic Park. He also gained popularity on television starring in the Prime Video series The Terminal List, where he portrays James Reece, a US Navy SEAL officer.

Chris Pratt reportedly made $1.4 million per episode of The Terminal List, earning over $11 million for the show’s first season of eight episodes. The series has been renewed for a second season, expected to premiere in 2026.

Tim Allen: Home Improvement

$1.25 Million

Tim Allen became a household name thanks to the hit ’90s show, Home Improvement. At its peak, he was earning a remarkable $1.25 million per episode (according to Uproxx).

ABC approved another season—the ninth—of Home Improvement, and Tim Allen was set to earn $2 million per episode. Unfortunately, disagreements over salaries prevented the season from happening.

Jerry Seinfeld: Seinfeld

$1 Million

Starring Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld was a hugely influential sitcom of the 1990s. Initially, Seinfeld earned about $20,000 per episode, but his salary later jumped to $500,000 per episode during seasons 7 and 8.

The comedian’s salary jumped to $1 million per episode by season 9, according to Men’s Journal. On top of that, Business Insider reports they also made $465 million from deals to show the program in reruns.

Helen Hunt & Paul Reiser:Mad About You

$1 Million

The sitcom Mad About You didn’t always get the recognition it deserved, but it launched Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser to stardom. The show ran for eight seasons, and by the end, Hunt and Reiser were earning $1 million per episode. That meant they made $12 million for the final season, a significant increase from their previous salary – almost double what they had been making.

Additionally, Hunt and Reiser received additional compensation as executive producers.

Let me tell you, the 2019 revival of Mad About You was a pretty pricey affair. According to Go Banking Rates, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt each pocketed a cool $350,000 per episode – and that figure included their fees as executive producers, too. It just goes to show you how much those established stars can command, even for a limited run.

The Cast Of Friends

$1 Million

Credit: MovieStillsDB

The stars of Friends – Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc – were among the first television actors to make $1 million per episode, which they earned during the show’s final season. Earlier in the series, they earned between $22,500 and $40,000 per episode, increasing to $75,000 per episode by season three.

According to Cinema Blend, towards the end of the series, Schwimmer was offered a pay raise. However, instead of taking it for himself, he spoke with the other cast members and urged them to negotiate for higher salaries together as a group. Parade reports that the cast collectively earns approximately $20 million each year in royalties.

Read More

2025-11-07 20:02