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In TV, more and more stars enter the 'Million Dollar Club'

It used to be that actors would only get $1 million per TV episode in the later seasons of super successful, long-running shows like "Friends" or "The Big Bang Theory." Now, more and more A-listers are demanding that kind of money up front.

By Michael Schneider • Dec 17, 2019 • 5m Listen

The shift in salaries has to do with changes in the TV industry at large. Instead of making 22 episodes a season and hoping for a syndication deal that will make a lot of money in the long run, shows are more likely to be a 10-episode streaming series with no backend at all. Since stars can't count on money down the line, they're asking for large sums--more and more in the million dollar range--up front. Members of the million dollar club include Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon for "The Morning Show," as well as Nicole Kidman for her upcoming project "Nine Perfect Strangers," and Steve Carrell for the Netflix series "Space Force."

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Screengrab

In TV, more and more stars enter the 'Million Dollar Club'

It used to be that actors would only get $1 million per TV episode in the later seasons of super successful, long-running shows like "Friends" or "The Big Bang Theory." Now, more and more A-listers are demanding that kind of money up front.

Share

Screengrab

In TV, more and more stars enter the 'Million Dollar Club'

It used to be that actors would only get $1 million per TV episode in the later seasons of super successful, long-running shows like "Friends" or "The Big Bang Theory." Now, more and more A-listers are demanding that kind of money up front.

Share