Salaries of TV’s highest-paid stars: ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Big Bang Theory’

Nicole Kidman on HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”HBOHow much are networks shelling out to bring Hollywood stars to TV?

In this age of proliferated programming, marquee names have become essential to bring sizable audiences to shows. And the competition among networks and producers has driven industry salaries to new heights.

At its height, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman reportedly negotiated $1 million salaries for the upcoming second season of HBO’s Emmy-winning drama, “Big Little Lies.”

And Jim Parsons of CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” made headlines this week for walking away from a reported two-year, $50 million paycheck for two more seasons of the sitcom, which CBS has subsequently decided to end in 2019. 

Here’s how much the highest-paid stars on TV are earning per-episode:

Note: Some salaries may include producing fees.

Jethro Nededog contributed to a previous version of this story.