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

Travis ClarkMay 16, 2019, 20:06 IST

CBS

"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?
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"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.

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.

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:

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

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

Source: Variety (2018)

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

Source: Variety (2018)

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

Source: Variety (2018)

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

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

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

Source: Variety (2018)

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

Source: Variety (2017)

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

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

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

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2017)

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

Source: Variety (2018)

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

Source: Variety (2018)

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

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

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

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (2018)

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

Source: Indiewire (2019)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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