TV Guide has released a list of what the top television stars earn, and while the recession and lower revenues have forced networks to pay some stars less, looking nice and pretending to be someone else on camera still beats the hell out of that master’s degree you got in social work just to make $40,000 a year.
Oprah leads all on-air talent by making a staggering $315 million annually, followed by — WHAAA? — Judge Judy? Judge Judy somehow makes 45 MILLION DOLLARS. Per year. I am completely baffled by that.
Other notables: Ryan Secrest gets $15M a year for “American Idol,” Charlie Sheen $1.25M PER EPISODE for “Two and a Half Men,” Jon Cryer $550K/episode on the same show, Hugh Laurie $400K+ for “House,” and the four main stars of “Desperate Housewives” — Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria Parker, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman — all make $400K an episode. Across a 22-episode season, that’s $35.2M in salary for a lousy excuse for a comedy, which is more money than I can fathom. I couldn’t spend thirty-five million dollars on hookers and drugs if I tried. But man, would I love to try.
Full list after the jump.
Drama (per episode)
Hugh Laurie (House) $400,000+
Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) $395,000 (each)
David Caruso (CSI: Miami) $375,000
Marg Helgenberger (CSI) $375,000
Mark Harmon (NCIS) $375,000
Laurence Fishburne (CSI) $350,000
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) $350,000
Denis Leary (Rescue Me) $350,000
Gary Sinise (CSI: NY ) $275,000
Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) $250,000
David Boreanaz (Bones) $200,000
Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) $200,000
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife ) $175,000
Dana Delany (Body of Proof ) $150,000
Lauren Graham (Parenthood) $150,000
Jada Pinkett Smith (HawthoRNe) $150,000
Jimmy Smits (Outlaw) $150,000
LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles) $125,000
Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles) $125,000
Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) $125,000
Jason Lee (Memphis Beat) $125,000
Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds) $125,000
Tom Selleck (Blue Bloods) $125,000
Michael Weatherly (NCIS) $125,000
Matt Bomer (White Collar) $100,000
Nathan Fillion (Castle) $100,000
Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds) $100,000
Jon Hamm (Mad Men) $100,000
Cole Hauser (Chase) $100,000
Alex O’Loughlin (Hawaii Five-0) $100,000
Timothy Olyphant (Justified ) $100,000
Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0) $80,000
Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles) $75,000
Anna Paquin (True Blood) $75,000
Blair Underwood (The Event) $75,000
Zachary Levi (Chuck) $60,000
Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) $40,000
Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) $40,000
Ashley Tisdale (Hellcats) $30,000
Late Night/Talk Syndication (per year)
Oprah Winfrey $315 million
Judge Judy Sheindlin $45 million
David Letterman (The Late Show) $28 million
Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) $25 million
Conan O’Brien (The Conan O’Brien Show) $10 million
Ellen DeGeneres (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) $8 million
Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) $6 million
Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately) $3.5 million
George Lopez (Lopez Tonight) $3.5 million
Reality (per year)
Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) $15 million
Joel McHale (The Soup) $2 million
Piers Morgan (America’s Got Talent) $2 million
Kate Gosselin (Kate Plus 8) $250,000 per episode
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi (Jersey Shore) $30,000 per episode
Comedy (per episode)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) $1.25 million
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) $550,000
Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) $400,000
Julie Kavner (The Simpsons) $400,000
Tina Fey (30 Rock) $350,000
Jeremy Piven (Entourage) $350,000
Steve Carell (The Office) $297,000
Angus T. Jones (Two and a Half Men) $250,000
David Duchovny (Californication) $200,000
Kevin Dillon (Entourage) $200,000
Adrian Grenier (Entourage) $200,000
Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) $180,000
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) $175,000
William Shatner ($#*! My Dad Says) $150,000
David Spade (Rules of Engagement) $150,000
Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) $100,000
Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) $85,000
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland) $75,000
Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000
Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000
Ty Burrell (Modern Family) $50,000
Jane Lynch (Glee) $50,000
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) $40,000
Matthew Morrison (Glee) $30,000
Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) $30,000
Dylan and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) $20,000 (each)
Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) $15,000
News (per year)
Matt Lauer (Today) $16 million +
Katie Couric (CBS) $15 million
Brian Williams (NBC) $12.5 million
Diane Sawyer (ABC) $12 million
Meredith Vieira (Today) $11 million
Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) $10 million
George Stephanopoulos (ABC) $8 million
Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) $7 million
Shepard Smith (Fox News) $7 million
Wolf Blitzer (CNN) $3 million
Christiane Amanpour (ABC) $2 million
Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC) $2 million
Eliot Spitzer (CNN) $500,000
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This list baffles the fucking mind. Leno more than Conan? The second actor on 2 1/2 men makes more than House or anyone on 30 Rock? Tom Selleck is still on TV?
The most mind boggling things on this list:
1) Jon Hamm and Timothy Olyphant make less than LLMF’n Cool J
2) (tie) Everything else
Jesus Christ I had no idea how many washed up stars are employed by crappy crime shows.
So according to this the producers of Modern Family feel that the fat latin kid is a bigger draw than Sofia Vergara giant tits?
so the fat kid from 2 1/2 men is rich as hell and that annoying nickelodeon girl is rich too?
kill me… seriously, kill me
I can’t believe how badly Jane Lynch is getting ripped off.
Homer and Marge are worth $400K per episode? Doesn’t that make Harry Shearer worth about a million per, minimum?
How does Don Draper drink so much on that salary?
Adrian Grenier makes twice as much as Ed O’Neill. Read that again. Fuck you, Hollywood.
George Lopez and Chelsea Handler, $3.5M?? Are you kidding me??
Fuck…TV needs a goddamned salary cap.
Eliot Spitzer’s on CNN’s payroll now? $500k can buy a ton of hookers.
“Jesus Christ I had no idea how many washed up stars are employed by crappy crime shows.”
Crappy crime shows are the New York Knicks of TV.
So, Neil Patrick Harris (and the rest of the cast of How I Met Your Mother) makes less than $15K an episode? That can’t possibly be right, can it? I mean, they must have just forgotten to include the show for some reason, right?
How does Don Draper drink so much on that salary?
That’s his salary in the 1960′s.
@enno I’m pretty sure all the “main” cast make the same 400K per episode. The fact that Yeardley Smith (who does one voice) and Julie Kavner (who does 3) make the same amount as the others probably pisses everyone off a bit.
Good to see the Entourage boys doing so well.
Well, at the very least Jeremy Piven is making more than the other douchebags from Entourage. Although he probably made more than the other dbags from the start anyway since the redhead’s biggest role was in John Q, Vince was in a movie with Melissa Joan Hart although Drama was in Platoon (LOL and he had some sweet hair in The Blob). IMDB tells me that Jeremy Piven starred in some ****ty movies through the 80s and 90s, so that’s that.
But WTF at Adrian Grenier making twice as much Timothy Olyphaunt and someone please tell me
WHY THE HELL IS 2 1/2 MEN SO POPULAR AND THEY MAKE SO MUCH MONEY? MIDDLE AMERICA, PLEASE OFF YOURSELF.
Also, does the chick from “Bones” make dramatically less money than Angel?
What stinks the most for me is that crazy woman Judge Judy making $45 MILLION DOLLARS a YEAR! As a retired cop, I’ve seen a lot of real judges…If any of them had behaved like she does, they would have been disbenched within months.
I Like Watching Judge Judy & She Behaves Right I Know How She Gets Sometimes Some People Make Her Upset I Like Watching Judge Judy.
Not to kill the party here, but a lot of the numbers that TV Guide is giving are just plain wrong. First, they simply don’t have access to this information. They’re guessing, maybe accurately in a few cases, but they don’t know. I worked at an agency for a few years which represents some of these people, and I can tell you that some of these numbers are pure bullshit.
Examples of wrong numbers?
Kaley cuoco should do porn. Would make way more money and would make people way happier than bing bang theory does. Thos useless sluts from dhw’s get 400,00 an episode? they should be taking it vaginally on the show for that price. Thats all their worth
Wold be interesting to know, where does this data come from?
How Reliable is it. Does the Irs agree.
dear judge judy, I think you are great you take no shit from anyone.
my sister that lives in brooklyn has your son for a dr.
she loves him and he is very good. she paid you a compliment about you and he said you are tough.
God…..why are you worried about this mouthy fucking old hag……she is a loud mouth cunt and the poorest example of entertainment going today……….she is one step above beating baby seals to death the a baseball bat…..turn the bitch off!!!! After a while they will get it and dump her and perhaps Judge Joe and all the other Al Queda judge types on TV.
wait, so you mean to tell me that the star of entourage (adrian grenier) is making much less than the co-star (jeremy piven)??? how does that work????
I think Judge Judy is the worst of all the judges she does not listen, she is so busy trying to make thing go her way and she is so disrespectful. She is loud and bosterous and act like a thub from the Ghetto. I know some people who would have been on show would give her a good beat down. I
know she is just someone who needs to be off tv.
It’s so difficult in our society for a woman particularly a black woman to get ahead. Poor Oprah only made $315 and Judge Judy only $45.
Judge Judy does not listen because she has to ACT a certain way. Yes, she is also an ACTRESS. Her CHARACTER demands she ACT that way to keep you glued to the tube so you stay seated for the COMMERCIAL MESSAGES since those sponsors expect you to buy products such as “SCAMONME” for women.
You people are all overpaid,for the bullshit you talk,and show on TV.
and u talk about cutting out goverment funding with these salarys they r making. rael talk lets cut bac there money to a $100k so military familys can cont. to eat and also get some of them hi paid tea party salarys cut bac. add that up and see how much we can bring to the table. WOW!!!!!
Judge judy You AWSOME!! love your show!! if I could meet anyone in the world it would be you!!! keep up the good work Congrats on the new contract till 2015 ill be watching everyday. if the world had more judges like this there would be ALOT!! less crime
I Like Watching Judge Judy She is Awesome.
4 million Homes x 2 = 8 milliom daily x 5 = 40 million weekly x 50 weeks = 2 billion watching judge judy annually.
That comes out to two cents a show per person cost.
What kind of bullshit is that? Timothy Olyphant only gets $100,000 per year. Hell, he is one of the top five actors on the list….and I guess Selleck has the same shitty agent as Timothy does…
Also, what is up with this curious insane bullshit? Michael C. Hall makes $350,000 per episode according to an old Y-H Money article….What is that bullshit! he makes less than Marg Helgenberger………..Damn that!
I can’t believe David Caruso gets paid.
This is totally ridiculous..We wonder why the economy is so messed up…We lay off teachers reduce their salaries, hurt our ability to educate the children in our own country.. We threaten to cut social security from the elderly…This here is a screwed up country..We need to stop these crazy reality shows..Have a couple court tv shows..Take half everyones salary that make millions of dollars a year ..Stop wasting the tax payers money on b/s..
Why does that baffle you, she has the highest viewership of any day time program at 10M per day!
Judge Judy
#1 is not a lawyer
#2 has never taken the bar exam
#3 is not a real judge – just a bad actor acting as an arbitrator
#4 appeals to idiot tv-addicted people
#5 gets paid way too much for her poor job performance
summary: FIRE THE BITCH
Judge Judy Had Too Have Been a Lawyer at First For 4 Years Before She Could Become a Judge & I’m Sure if She Diden’t Have a Degree Too Be a Lawyer & Judge Then She Would Not Be on TV & She Was a Family Court Judge Before Geting Her TV Series on TV Back in 1996 & She Has Been a Judge For a Long Time. I Like Watching Judge Judy.
Our charity helps close to 25,000 endangered children a year. This year, our total contributions have been about five hundred dollars. Oprah’s salary for one year could run our entire organization for four thousand years and could help one hundred million children. As I write this, we are struggling to survive with only a few thousand dollars being the difference between the life and death of our nonprofit organization.
Judge Judy passed the bar exam, she is a lawyer and retired judge.
She’s a Retired Lawyer & She is Not a Retired Judge Hello She’s Still on TV & Taking Court Cases.
@Lyn Wall, you hit the nail right on the head!!! Social security in jeopardy, education and teachers along with salaries cut, youth programs all but gone, people under and unemployed, yet these people make these outrages salaries and are the only people that get their salary increases, free stuff, and WE PAY FOR IT!! Yes, everything goes up except (our wages) in the name of profit to keep the rich, RICH! Oprah’s annual salary could feed, house and clothe a 3rd world country! It’s truly disgraceful!! Shame on greedy people!!!!
@Real_Court…Your comment on 3/12/12 is actually “TOTALLY” incorrect. I also don’t like/agree w/her personality and demeanor…but, thatdoesn’t change “The Fact” she is a lawyer. She was the only of woman of 126 to grad from her law school class at a NY area school in 1965 & passed the bar exam that same year and immediately started as a corporate lawyer. In 1972 she became a prosecutor in the NY “Family Court’. In 1982 the Mayor of NY appointed her as a judge in their “Criminal Courts”. In 1986, after 4 years in the Criminal Court system, NY Mayor Koch appointed her “Chief Judge” of the Manhattan Division of the NYC Family Court. In 1996, after approximately 25 years of court experience as a judge & prosecutor, she retired and started her work a a TV judge shortly thereafter. Like I said, I’m no Judge Judy fan…but, that dosn’t change her resume’ or the facts of her experience and education as a judge/prosecutor. Thanks.
Judge Judy is Awesome I Like Watching Her Show on TV & So What if She Retired Her Old Family Courtroom & She Wanted Too Be a TV Judge at Least She Makes More Money & I Think Your Just Jelious of Her & I Don’t Make as Much Money as She Does But I’m Not Jelious Money isen’t Everything.