WHAT THEY EARN
Movie actors migrating to TV. Controversial stars on the comeback trail. It's our annual salary report!
by Stephen Battaglio and Michael Schneider, TV GUIDE MAGAZINE
The reason Robin Williams is returning to series television after 31 years is pretty simple: "It's great for me to have a steady gig," he says. That attitude may explain the continuing influx of movie stars to TV, which has created a buyer's market for networks and studios looking for big names to front their new shows. "Movies are done, unless you're an action star," says one TV executive. "They are no longer making the kind of movies Robin Williams would star in." Thanks to the greater supply of quality actors, networks and producers in recent years have tried to cap starting salaries at $125,000 an episode. That's still the case, based on conversations with agents, producers, studio chiefs and network heads for our annual list of star salaries.
There are always exceptions, especially for marquee names with track records on TV. Williams is estimated to be getting $165,000 an episode for the CBS comedy The Crazy Ones. Michael J. Fox is said to be at $150,000 for his new NBC series, with producer fees that push him closer to $200,000.
NCIS star Mark Harmon earns $525,000 per episode--a 5 percent increase over his last deal--and he'll also own a share of the show's profits. NBC kept Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay at close to the nearly $400,000 an episode she earned last season, while providing such perks as fewer work days and shorter hours.
Though cable salaries are generally lower than those on broadcast networks, stars on hot series are catching up. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis of Homeland have seen their pay more than double to around $250,000 now that the Showtime drama is a worldwide hit. With their shows' recent renewals, the leads on HBO's True Blood and Game of Thrones can command higher fees. But ensembles are less dependent on stars--and a willingness to take creative risks gives producers more leverage, so characters can be killed off if negotiations don't go well.
Agents are hopeful that the explosion of scripted programs across many platforms will raise demand (and prices) for actors. For Season 1 of Netflix's House of Cards, it's estimated that Kevin Spacey earned up to $350,000 an episode. But the increase in viewer choices also means smaller ratings across the board, making it harder to justify some big salaries. Even though Jay Leno is still the late-night ratings champ, he took a pay cut of more than 20 percent in his final contract to host Tonight. David Letterman's take has also dropped; it's now down to about $20 million per year.
Stars also face a new economic reality when they want to make a comeback. Isaiah Washington earned six figures as one of the stars of Grey's Anatomy. His dismissal from the show in 2007 after using a gay slur cost him big time: He's now making an estimated $35,000 per episode on The CW's midseason show The 100.
Yet huge paydays are still possible. Some network executives believe Jon Stewart is pulling in as much as $30 million a year to host The Daily Show, making him late night's highest paid star. Next year, while their show is the No. 1 primetime comedy and a massive hit in syndication, The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco will be negotiating new contracts. Insiders expect the actors to seek $1 million an episode, not unlike the Friends stars in their final years. So anyone who thinks the days of big money are over, we've got one word for you: Bazinga!
DRAMA (per episode)
Mark Harmon, NCIS $525,000 + points
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit $400,000
Simon Baker, The Mentalist $350,000
Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy $350,000
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy $350,000
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy $350,000
Michael C. Hall, Dexter $300,000
Jon Hamm, Mad Men $275,000
Stephen Moyer, True Blood $275,000
Anna Paquin, True Blood $275,000
Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood $275,000
Claire Danes, Homeland $250,000
Damian Lewis, Homeland $250,000
David Boreanaz, Bones $250,000
Emily Deschanel, Bones $250,000
Ted Danson, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation $250,000
Keifer Sutherland, 24 $250,000
Michael Weatherly, NCIS, $250,000
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad $225,000
Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice $200,000
Laurence Fishburne, Hannibal $175,000
Lauren Graham, Parenthood $175,000
Pauley Perrette, NCIS $175,000
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones $150,000
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones $150,000
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad $150,000
Lucy Liu, Elementary $130,000
Greg Kinnear, Rake $125,000 + points
James Spader, The Blacklist $125,000
Blair Underwood, Ironside $120,000
Connie Britton, Nashville $105,000
Keri Russell, The Americans $100,000
Gillian Anderson, Hannibal $100,000
Toni Collette, Hostages $100,000
A.J. Cook, Criminal Minds $100,000
Kirsten Vangsness, Criminal Minds $100,000
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men $100,000
Kerry Washington, Scandal $80,000
Demian Bichir, The Bridge $75,000
Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter $75,000
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel $75,000
Clark Gregg, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. $75,000
Matthew Rhys, The Americans $75,000
Rebecca Romijn, King & Maxwell $75,000
Jon Tenney, King & Maxwell $75,000
Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead $70,000
Noah Emmerich, The Americans $50,000
Tatiana Masiany, Orphan Black $50,000
Kurtwood Smith, Resurrection $50,000
Mireille Enos, The Killing $45,000
Megan Follows, Reign $37,000
Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black $35,000
Isaiah Washington, The 100 $35,000
Adelaide Kane, Reign $30,000
Teri Polo, The Fosters $25,000
John Schneider, The Haves and the Have Nots $25,000
LATE NIGHT (per year)
Jon Stewart $25-30 million
Jay Leno $20 million
David Letterman $20 million
Conan O'Brien $12 million
Jimmy Fallon $11 million
Jimmy Kimmel $10 million
Chelsea Handler $8 million
Craig Ferguson $8 million
Seth Myers $3 million
Andy Cohen $2 million
Keith Olbermann $2 million
Kenan Thompson $25,000 per episode
COMEDY (per episode)
Ashton Kutcher, Two and a Half Men $750,000
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men $650,000
Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory $325,000
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory $325,000
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory $325,000
Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons $300,000
Julie Kavner, The Simpsons $300,000
Yeardley Smith, The Simpsons $300,000
Tim Allen, Last Man Standing $235,000
Patricia Heaton, The Middle $235,000
Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother $225,000
Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother $225,000
Josn Radnor, How I Met Your Mother $225,000
Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother $225,000
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother $225,000
Ed O'Neill, Modern Family $200,000 + points
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation $200,000
Julie Bowen, Modern Family $175,000
Ty Burrell, Modern Family $175,000
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family $175,000
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family $175,000
Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones $165,000
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl $125,000
Anna Faris, Mom $125,000
Allison Janney, Mom $125,000
John Goodman, Alpha House $100,000
Jeremy Sisto, Suburgatory $100,000
Jane Lynch, Glee $80,000
Lea Michele, Glee $80,000
Matthew Morrison, Glee $80,000
James Caan, Back in the Game $75,000
Max Greenfield, New Girl $75,000
Sarah Hyland, Modern Family $70,000
Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family $70,000
Ariel Winter, Modern Family $70,000
Rebel Wilson, Super Fun Night $65,000 + points
Jeff Garlin, The Goldbergs $60,000
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory $50,000
Kristen Johnston, The Exes $50,000
Allison Williams, Girls $50,000
Elijah Wood, Wilfred $50,000
Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa & Joey $25,000
Joey Lawrence, Melissa & Joey $25,000
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer $25,000
Ashley Rickards, Awkward $20,000
DAYTIME/SYNDICATION (per year)
Judy Sheindlin, Judge Judy $47 million
Kelly Ripa, Live with Kelly and Michael $20 million
Maury Povich, Maury $14 million
Katie Couric, Katie $10 million
Queen Latifah, The Queen Latifah Show $5-10 million
Michael Strahan, Live with Kelly and Michael $4 million
Sharon Osbourne, The Talk $1 million
Regis Philbin, Crowd Goes Wild $1 million
Aisha Tyler, The Talk $500,000
Judge Judy's Court of Appeal
Judy Sheindlin probably didn't need the $2 million raise she received in the $47 million contract that will keep her presiding on Judge Judy through 2017. But it's clear that she's earning it. As the top-rated syndicated daytime show, Judge Judy took in $230 million in advertising in 2012, according to Kantar Media. Local TV stations enter into bidding wars for the right to carry it from CBS Television Distribution because the show delivers a big lead-in to their early-evening newscasts. The show also airs in 100 markets overseas. According to Bill Carroll, the syndication guru at Katz Television, Sheindlin's bosses aren't complaining about her rate: "CBS doesn't pay people more than what it believes they're worth." --SB
