1. Famous Actor Actress

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This is a list of people starring on television that are the highest-paid, based on various sources. This list includes the top-paid TV stars by name and their network primetime salaries per episode, which includes stars from past series like Two and a Half Men and Game of Thrones as well as current series like The Walking Dead. It also includes hosts and news presenters with the highest annual salaries, which include Tyra Banks, Maury Povich, Ellen DeGeneres, and some talent from the Today Show and the CBS Evening News.

Network primetime salaries per episode[edit]

Network primetime salaries per season[edit]

Morning annual salaries[edit]

News presenter annual salaries[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcde'The Highest Paid TV Actors Of All Time Per Per Episode - UPROXX'. UPROXX.
2. ^'For $50 Mil, Producers Love Raymond'. PEOPLE.com.
3. ^'Kelsey Grammer: NBC's $1.6 Million Man'. PEOPLE.com.
4. ^Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston Finally Give Us a Peek at The Morning Show. W. 25 March 2019.
5. ^Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Made More Than $1 Million Per Episode for Game of Thrones' Final Season. Harper's Bazaar. 6 September 2018.
6. ^Mahan, Colin (July 5, 2006). 'Sopranos actors end pay dispute'. TV.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
7. ^Cattrall-Parker feud was brewing for two decades: report. Fox News. 12 February 2018.
8. ^Carter, Bill (June 11, 2004). 'The fame and fat paycheck from Friends--$1.25 million per episode last season'. The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
9. ^Flint, Joe (April 10, 1998). 'Helen Hunt and Paul Riser get a raise'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
10. ^Fahey, Mark (May 31, 2015). 'Seinfeld's per-line payday'. CNBC.
11. ^Goldberg, Lesley (March 29, 2017). 'Why the 'Big Bang Theory' Stars Took Surprising Pay Cuts'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
12. ^Apple shelling out millions for TV talent reportedly helped Reese Witherspoon triple her salary on season 2 of HBO's 'Big Little Lies'. Business Insider. 17 January 2018.
13. ^'Salaries of TV's Top Talent Revealed'. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
14. ^Acuna, Kirsten (September 25, 2012). 'The Highest-Paid Actors On TV This Fall'. Business Insider. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
15. ^ ^abGoldberg, Lesley (November 17, 2016). 'Robert De Niro's Making How Much?! TV Is Becoming an ATM for Top Talent'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
16. ^Balloni, Matthew (May 1, 2013). ''Two and a Half Men': Jon Cryer Gets a Raise, Ashton Kutcher Doesn't'. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
17. ^ ^abc'Britney Spears signs onto 'X-Factor': Highest paid stars on TV'. New York Daily News. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
18. ^Wallenstein, Andrew (May 30, 2017). 'Paying Katy Perry Top Dollar Doesn't Make Sense for 'American Idol''. Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
19. ^Elliott, Hannah (May 16, 2012). 'The Real American Idol: How J.Lo Got Her Mojo Back'. Forbes. Forbes, Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
20. ^ ^abMaloney, Devon (July 24, 2012). 'Mariah Carey's $18 Million 'Idol' Deal: How Does it Measure Up to Stars' TV Paydays?'. Spin. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
21. ^Collins, Scott (May 13, 2013). 'Will Christina Aguilera return to 'The Voice' with big pay bump?'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
22. ^''The Voice': Christina Aguilera Will Be Back For Season 5'. The Huffington Post. May 13, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
23. ^ ^abcMaglio, Tony; Waxman, Sharon (March 25, 2016). ''Voice' Judge Shakeup: Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys to Join, Pharrell Williams to Exit Next Season (Exclusive)'. TheWrap. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
24. ^Rushfield, Ricchard. 'Idol Terror - Is Seacrest Out? An Ankler Special Report'. The Ankler. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
25. ^Buchanan, Kyle (September 19, 2012). 'How Much Will Shakira Make for The Voice?'. Vulture. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
26. ^Gerencer, Tommy (November 28, 2016). 'How Much Money Do The Voice Coaches Make?'. MoneyNation. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
27. ^Soghomonian, Talia (June 1, 2013). 'Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey quit 'American Idol''. NME. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
28. ^'TV Personalities'. CBC News. July 25, 2007.
29. ^'TVs Highest Paid Star? Judge Judy (by a mile)'. newser.com. August 22, 2013.
30. ^'Barbara Walters'. Forbes.com. June 14, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
31. ^'Spotlights Monologues extended'. Toronto Star. January 30, 2001.
32. ^'Springer's denies knowledge about show's business details'. June 5, 1999.
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35. ^Starr, Michael (May 2, 2002). 'Stays for Another 'Day''. Fox News. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
36. ^Durden, Douglas (September 14, 2006). ''Today' gives new host a very warm welcome'. Richmond Times.
37. ^'Vieira chosen as Couric's 'Today' successor'. NBC. April 7, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
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Related on Forbes: Highest-Paid TV Actresses 2018: Sofia Vergara Tops Ranking Again With $42.5 Million

Rounding out the top five is NCIS's Mark Harmon, who banks big bucks from the CBS police procedural. Like the Big Bang Theory cast, he has smartly negotiated a cut of the show's profits.

Together, the world's 10 highest-paid TV actors earned $181 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018, down from $185 million in the same period last year.

New to the list is Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead, who joins the ranking for the first time thanks to his paycheck from his final season on the AMC show. Expect co-star Norman Reedus to replace him among TV's top-earners next year since Lincoln bowed out — and Reedus reportedly negotiated a raise.

The only actor to drop off the ranking is Kevin Spacey, who was accused of several counts of sexual misconduct and was dropped from his role of Frank Underwood on House of Cards. (He has denied the allegations.) With no new episodes in our scoring period, the disgraced actor failed to make the cut.

METHODOLOGY

All earnings estimates are from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018. Figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted. Earnings estimates are based on data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders.

The World's Highest-Paid Actors 2018

1. Jim Parsons

Earnings: $26.5 million

Primary Show: Big Bang Theory

2. Johnny Galecki

$25 million

Big Bang Theory

3. (tie) Simon Helberg

$23.5 million

Big Bang Theory

Famous Actor Actress

3. (tie) Kunal Nayyar

$23.5 million

Big Bang Theory

5. Mark Harmon

$19 million

NCIS

6. Ed O'Neill

$14 million

Modern Family

7. Eric Stonestreet

$13.5 million

Modern Family

8. Jesse Tyler Ferguson

$13 million

Modern Family

9. Ty Burrell

$12 million

Modern Family

10. Andrew Lincoln

$11 million

The Walking Dead

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For the fourth year in a row, Jim Parsons is the world's highest-paid TV actor, banking $26.5 million.

zz/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx

Big Bang Theory may be in its final season, but its stars are still making millions for now. Four of the top five highest-paid TV actors have the CBS hit comedy to thank for their monumental paydays, including top-ranked Jim Parsons, who pocketed $26.5 million pretax in the 12 months preceding June 1, 2018.

Parsons claimed the top spot for the fourth year in a row, edging Johnny Galecki (No. 2, $25 million) with additional cash from endorsements and executive producing spinoff Young Sheldon. The pair's Big Bang Theory co-stars, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg, tie at No. 3 ($23.5 million) with fewer side projects to juice their main salaries.

All four Big Bang Theory stars saw their paychecks drop from last year after the original cast opted to take a cut from an estimated $1 million an episode to $900,000 in an effort to boost Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch's fee. But they still snag points of the show's back-end, which adds an estimated seven figures a year for each.

Related on Forbes: Highest-Paid TV Actresses 2018: Sofia Vergara Tops Ranking Again With $42.5 Million

Rounding out the top five is NCIS's Mark Harmon, who banks big bucks from the CBS police procedural. Like the Big Bang Theory cast, he has smartly negotiated a cut of the show's profits.

Together, the world's 10 highest-paid TV actors earned $181 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018, down from $185 million in the same period last year.

New to the list is Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead, who joins the ranking for the first time thanks to his paycheck from his final season on the AMC show. Expect co-star Norman Reedus to replace him among TV's top-earners next year since Lincoln bowed out — and Reedus reportedly negotiated a raise.

The only actor to drop off the ranking is Kevin Spacey, who was accused of several counts of sexual misconduct and was dropped from his role of Frank Underwood on House of Cards. (He has denied the allegations.) With no new episodes in our scoring period, the disgraced actor failed to make the cut.

METHODOLOGY

All earnings estimates are from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018. Figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted. Earnings estimates are based on data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders.

The World's Highest-Paid Actors 2018

1. Jim Parsons

Earnings: $26.5 million

Primary Show: Big Bang Theory

2. Johnny Galecki

$25 million

Big Bang Theory

3. (tie) Simon Helberg

$23.5 million

Big Bang Theory

3. (tie) Kunal Nayyar

$23.5 million

Big Bang Theory

5. Mark Harmon

$19 million

NCIS

6. Ed O'Neill

$14 million

Modern Family

7. Eric Stonestreet

$13.5 million

Modern Family

8. Jesse Tyler Ferguson

$13 million

Modern Family

9. Ty Burrell

$12 million

Modern Family

10. Andrew Lincoln

$11 million

The Walking Dead