How the salaries of 'The Big Bang Theory' actors compare with TV's highest-paid stars

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How the salaries of 'The Big Bang Theory' actors compare with TV's highest-paid stars

The Big Bang Theory

CBS

"The Big Bang Theory"

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  • "The Big Bang Theory" ends its 12-season run on Thursday. The actors were some of the highest-paid on television.
  • How do the "Big Bang Theory" salaries stack up against those of some of the other highest-paid actors on television?
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"The Big Bang Theory" ends its record-breaking 12-season run on Thursday, and the actors were some of the highest paid on television.

Actor Jim Parsons made headlines last summer for walking away from a reported two-year $50 million paycheck for two more seasons of the sitcom. That included $1 million an episode plus profits. CBS then announced the show would end with its 12th season, which premiered in September.

READ MORE: The 2 most popular TV shows of 2018 were both canceled: 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Roseanne'

In 2017, Variety reported that the show's five original cast members - Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg - agreed to take $100,000 pay cuts in order to help costars Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik earn more. The two were making $200,000 an episode compared to the $1 million the original five were making.

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For the final season, Rauch and Bialik received raises, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and made at least $425,000 an episode.

Parsons, Galecki, Nayyar, and Helberg were the top four biggest earners on Forbes' list of the highest-paid TV actors of 2018. Parsons topped the list with $26.5 million in pretax from June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2018. Cuoco was Forbes' second-highest-paid TV actress of 2018 with $24.5 million in the same time period.

But there are other TV stars whose salaries are on par with the "Big Bang Theory" actors, including Norman Reedus, who is making $1 million an episode for "The Walking Dead" after his costar Andrew Lincoln departed the show.

Below are some of TV's highest-paid actors and how much they make per episode:

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$1 million – Norman Reedus, "The Walking Dead" (AMC)

$1 million – Norman Reedus, "The Walking Dead" (AMC)

Source: Variety (2018)

$1 million — Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu)

$1 million — Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" (Hulu)

Source: Variety (2018)

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$1 million — Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies" (HBO)

$1 million — Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies" (HBO)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

$900,000 — Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$900,000 — Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

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$900,000 — Kaley Cuoco, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$900,000 — Kaley Cuoco, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

$900,000 — Johnny Galecki, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$900,000 — Johnny Galecki, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

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$900,000 — Kunal Nayyar, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$900,000 — Kunal Nayyar, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

$900,000 — Simon Helberg, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$900,000 — Simon Helberg, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

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$650,000 – Dwayne Johnson, "Ballers" (HBO)

$650,000 – Dwayne Johnson, "Ballers" (HBO)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

$600,000 — Julia Roberts, "Homecoming" (Amazon)

$600,000 — Julia Roberts, "Homecoming" (Amazon)

Source: Variety (2018)

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$575,000 — Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)

$575,000 — Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

$500,000 — Sean Penn, "The First" (Hulu)

$500,000 — Sean Penn, "The First" (Hulu)

Source: Variety (2018)

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$500,000 — Kit Harington, "Game of Thrones" (HBO)

$500,000 — Kit Harington, "Game of Thrones" (HBO)

Source: Variety (2017)

$425,000 — Melissa Rauch, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$425,000 — Melissa Rauch, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

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$425,000 — Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

$425,000 — Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

$375,000 — John Goodman, "The Conners" (ABC)

$375,000 — John Goodman, "The Conners" (ABC)

Source: Variety (2018)

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$350,000 — Millie Bobby Brown, "Stranger Things" (Netflix)

$350,000 — Millie Bobby Brown, "Stranger Things" (Netflix)

Source: Variety (2018)

$250,000 — Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us" (NBC)

$250,000 — Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us" (NBC)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

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$250,000 — Evan Rachel Wood, "Westworld" (HBO)

$250,000 — Evan Rachel Wood, "Westworld" (HBO)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

$175,000 — Sophie Turner, "Game of Thrones" (HBO)

$175,000 — Sophie Turner, "Game of Thrones" (HBO)

Source: Indiewire (2019)

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