DRAMA (per episode) Mark Harmon (NCIS): $525,000 + points COMEDY (per episode) Ashton Kutcher (Two and a Half Men): $750,000 REALITY Howard Stern (America's Got Talent): $15 million per year LATE NIGHT (per year) Jon Stewart (The Daily Show): $25-30 million NEWS (per year) Matt Lauer (NBC): $22-25 million DAYTIME/SYNDICATION (per year) Judy Sheindlin (Judge Judy): $47 million http://www.tvguide.com/News/TV-Highest-Paid-Stars-1069334.aspx
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
WHAT THEY EARN, continued... REALITY Howard Stern, America's Got Talent $15 million per season Kardashian family, Keeping Up with the Kardashians $10 million per season Keith Urban, American Idol $5 million per season Blake Shelton, The Voice $4 million per season Adam Levine, The Voice $4 million per season Jeff Probst, Survivor $4 million per year Kelly Rowland, The X Factor $2.5 million per season Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race $2 million per year Vicki Gunvalson, The Real Housewives of Orange County $450,000 per season Robertson family, Duck Dynasty $250,000 per episode Naomi Campbell, The Face $75,000 per episode RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race $50,000 per episode Darrell Sheets, Storage Wars $25,000 per episode June Shannon, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo $20,000 per episode Reza Farahan, Shahs of Sunset $18,000 per episode There's No Place Like a Pricey Home Now that Howard Stern has a $15 million gig as a judge on America's Got Talent, in addition to the estimated $100 million a year he collects from his Sirius XM radio gig, he likely didn't sweat much when he closed on a $52 million oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. Here are some other stars who either upgraded or added addresses in the past year. --Elizabeth Wagmeister Elizabeth DeGeneres & Portia De Rossi Santa Barbara, CA $26.5 million Mariska Hargitay Upper West Side, New York City, NY $10.7 million Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy West Village, New York City, NY $6.8 million Michael C. Hall Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA $3.8 million Anna Faris & Chris Pratt Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, CA $3.3 million Mindy Kaling Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA $1.7 million Aaron Paul Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, CA $1.4 million How Much the Moguls Make When TV stars become producers, they sometimes earn more than the people who employ them. That's the case with Simon Cowell, whose X Factor franchise airs all over the world; Oprah Winfrey, the purveyor of her OWN cable network; and Ryan Seacrest, who has become a reality-TV mogul. Here's how their reported total 2012 incomes rank compared to those of the chief executives at some of the top media companies. --SB Simon Cowell $95 million Oprah Winfrey $77 million Leslie Moonves, CBS $62 million Ryan Seacrest $61 million David Zaslav, Discovery $50 million Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation $28 million Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner $26 million Steve Burke, Comcast $26 million NEWS (per year) Matt Lauer, NBC $22-25 million Bill O'Reilly, FNC $17 million Brian Williams, NBC $13 million Diane Sawyer, ABC $12 million Anderson Cooper, CNN $10 million Rachel Maddow, MSNBC $7 million Megyn Kelly, FNC $6 million Robin Roberts, ABC $6 million Ann Curry, NBC $5 million Chris Matthews, MSNBC $5 million Scott Pelley, CBS $5 million Hoda Kotb, NBC $3 million Chris Cuomo, CNN $2.5 million Sam Champion, ABC $2 million Josh Elliott, ABC $1.8 million Tamron Hall, MSNBC $1.2 million Jake Tapper, CNN $1 million Chuck Todd, NBC $1 million Candy Crowley, CNN $600,000 Newt Gingrich, CNN $600,000 Kate Bolduan, CNN $500,000 Suzanne Malveaux CNN $500,000 Sarah Palin, FNC $250,000
Is any actor out there really worth 1 million an episode?!? That's nuts. Big Bang Theory Stars Seeking Hefty Pay Raises