The 10 highest-paid TV actors in the world are from just 4 shows, and some are making over $20 million a year

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The 10 highest-paid TV actors in the world are from just 4 shows, and some are making over $20 million a year

the walking dead

AMC

Andrew Lincoln in "The Walking Dead"

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Forbes' annual list of the highest-paid television actors in the world is here, and it includes actors from just four shows: "The Big Bang Theory" as it enters its 12th and final season, "Modern Family," "NCIS," and "The Walking Dead," as lead actor Andrew Lincoln prepares to leave the series in its current ninth season.

Forbes says that the list is based on figures from IMDb, Box Office Mojo, Nielsen, and interviews with industry insiders from June 2017 to June 2018.

Lincoln, who came in tenth, earned an estimated $11 million for AMC's "The Walking Dead," which he is set to depart this year. Ty Burrell ($12 million), Jesse Tyler Ferguson ($13 million), Eric Stonestreet ($13.5 million), and Ed O'Neill ($14 million) - all from ABC's "Modern Family" - rounded out the bottom of the top 10.

The top five includes four actors from CBS' "The Big Bang Theory." According to Entertainment Weekly, the show is ending after Jim Parsons turned down $50 million over another two years because he wanted to depart the show.

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The top five highest-paid TV actors in the world, according to Forbes, are below:

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5. Mark Harmon

5. Mark Harmon

Show: "NCIS" (CBS)

Earnings: $19 million

3. (tie) Kunal Nayyar

3. (tie) Kunal Nayyar

Show: "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Earnings: $23.5 million

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3. (tie) Simon Helberg

3. (tie) Simon Helberg

Show: "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Earnings: $23.5 million

2. Johnny Galecki

2. Johnny Galecki

Show: "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Earnings: $25 million

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1. Jim Parsons

1. Jim Parsons

Show: "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

Earnings: $26.5 million