The 10 Most Expensive TV Shows Ever Made

During the golden age of 1950s television, when advertising dollars largely covered the expense to produce a hit series, network executives likely balked at the idea of spending tens of thousands of dollars per episode. Back then, hit shows reportedly cost close to $10,000 per episode, which would have been considered expensive for the time. Today, that figure would barely cover the first few minutes of your average hit television series.

In the race to win the streaming wars, networks have become accustomed to big spending, and according to some estimates, hit TV shows tend to cost anywhere between $1 and $15 million per episode. As Variety notes, some shows can exceed an average of $20 million per episode, with companies increasingly willing to break records when it comes to spending as long as it guarantees them a dominant share of audience attention.

Yet, even in an era where TV show budgets are bigger than ever, there are some shows that stand out in terms of cost. Some made massive marks on pop culture, while others missed the mark, but they all share one thing in common: Many consider them to be among the most expensive TV shows ever made. 

There's little doubt that the iconic NBC series "Friends" was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 90s. After all, it's a show that earns Warner Bros., who earns the rights to the show, over $1 billion per year. Yet, at the time the series was filming, it's likely Warner Bros. Television balked at the idea of having to spend so much money on a series. Initially, filming each episode might have cost a few million, but by the very end of the series, as Variety reported, each episode cost around $10 million. By this estimate, the final season of "Friends," which had 18 episodes, would have cost about $180 million.

The driving factor around the sharp increase in episode costs wasn't special effects or trips to film on location. Instead, it was due to the successful negotiating tactics of the "Friends" cast, who by that time had become among the most famous actors in all of Hollywood. The group of stars understood their worth, and demanded that it be reflected in their paychecks. Their show of mutual solidarity led to each member of the cast earning $1 million per episode.

In part because the "Friends" cast was willing to stand up for themselves, and work together to make the show what it was, the cast continues to earn an average of $20 million annually in residuals. Even if the series was expensive for the time, many would argue it justified its price tag many times over. 

"Severance," on top of being one of the most riveting shows in recent TV history, has also become one of the most expensive. According to ScreenRant, spending on the second season of the hit series exceeded $200 million. While some of the budget went to covering CGI effects and the unique set design, much of the cost was unintended. Per IMDb, abandoned scripts and scrapped storylines contributed to excess spending, as did the allegedly toxic disagreements between showrunners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman. Season 1 of "Severance" faced costly delays due to COVID-19, forcing actors to quarantine multiple times. Later, filming for Season 2 was impacted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes. In the end, "Severance" would cost an average of $20 million per episode to film.

"Severance" was so expensive that some might attribute it to Apple losing an estimated $1 billion per year on its streaming service. Initially, reports indicated that Apple was willing to lose so much money because it believed the missed earnings would be worth it if any of its shows brought in new, loyal customers for its products. However, Apple is now said to be looking to significantly lower spending on streaming shows, a shift in attitude that could suggest that even if shows like "Severance" garner success and accolades, the company isn't willing to throw away excessive money to keep them in the public eye. As for "Severance," the show may have ultimately vindicated the decision to spend so much, as Deadline reports it generated about $200 million in earnings for Apple's streaming service.

Although the popularity of Marvel Studios' Disney+ TV shows is somewhat mixed at this point, it's hard to argue against the critical acclaim enjoyed by the hit series "WandaVision," which aired in early 2021. As a love letter to various eras of American television featuring some of Marvel's most powerful characters, the TV show's expensive nature was practically inevitable. The series would naturally require a lot of special effects, multiple costume changes, and era-specific set designs, as well as various changes in filming techniques to be authentic to the era in which each episode was set. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, each episode of "WandaVision" was estimated to have cost about $25 million to make. With nine total episodes, this represents a total budget of around $225 million. To put that figure into perspective, the budget of the very first Iron Man movie was about $140 million, per Box Office Mojo. Because "WandaVision" was ultimately a success, some might be surprised that not nearly as much money was set aside for Agatha All Along, a spin-off series that follows "WandaVision" villain Agatha Harkness. That show would reportedly be filmed on a budget of $40 million, the smallest for any Marvel Studios undertaking.

For Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman, "Masters of the Air" was the culmination of many years of work, the third and final chapter in a story that began with the widely acclaimed World War II mini-series Band of Brothers and continued with The Pacific. As Deadline reports, "Masters of the Air" took three years to create, a labor of love that saw the series shift from being streamed on HBO to exclusive availability on the Apple+ streaming platform. Some might argue that this shift took the third part in the trio's story away from a wider audience, thus preventing it from being nearly as popular as the two mini-series that were released ahead of it. Even so, "Masters of the Air" featured a who's who of major talent, such as Barry Keoghan and Austin Butler.

The budget for the series exceeded original expectations, in part due to COVID-19 compliance costs, which reportedly forced Apple to spend $60 million. This brought total spending on the nine-episode series to between $250 million and $300 million. Without factoring in the cost for COVID-19 compliance, this made the series' episodes cost between $27 and $28 million each. Much of the expense came down to CGI and other effects meant to capture the realistic feel of aerial combat during WWII. Spielberg has never shied away from realism, as seen with earlier war dramas he's helped bring to life, whether Band of Brothers or the highly acclaimed Saving Private Ryan. Though "Masters of the Air" wasn't as widely talked about as Band of Brothers or The Pacific, it's still an important part of a wider story representing an important moment in U.S. history, and while it was an expensive story to tell, many critics consider the effort to have been worth it.

"The Mandalorian" arrived at the perfect time for not just Disney+ but for an embattled Lucasfilm, which was beginning to struggle under a combination of unpopular movie-making decisions and a disillusioned Star Wars fan base. It didn't help that publications like Esquire attempted to pin the failings of releases on fans by labeling them racist and sexist trolls. Thankfully for all parties, "The Mandalorian" series proved to be an instant classic, combining the familiar world of Star Wars with a Western-type feel. It also helped that the show featured a wildly popular childlike alien that was originally dubbed "Baby Yoda," but would eventually be named Grogu. When combined with the stoic but somewhat heartfelt acting of Pedro Pascal, "The Mandalorian" quickly rose through the ranks to become among the most popular stories associated with the Star Wars franchise.

Sources estimate that each episode of "The Mandalorian" cost about $15 million. Meanwhile, ScreenRant estimated that Disney spent upward of $360 million across three seasons of the show. Although the show was initially well received by Star Wars fans and casual viewers alike, there seems to be some trepidation about the upcoming film, "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which follows the adventures of the show's main characters. Industry insiders claim the film's budget is capped at $166.4 million, a much lower budget than many expected following the initial success of the associated TV series.

"Game of Thrones" stood apart from other shows as a dark and sensual fantasy series with the sorts of dramatic twists and turns that hooked viewers from its very first season. It would not only earn high praise from critics and TV viewers alike, but it would also have a huge impact on pop culture through much of the 2010s. The first few seasons reportedly cost an average of $4 million per episode, which was by no means a modest amount of money. However, as seasons passed, more money was necessary to properly bring the world of "Game of Thrones" to life, a world that featured everything from magical explosions to ice zombies and multiple fire-breathing dragons. Towards the final series of the show, costs per episode exceeded $15 million on average.

By Season 8 of "Game of Thrones," some estimates put the total series budget at over $560 million. Some argue whether the expenses were worth it in the end, as the series famously ended on a sour note, with fans famously hating the final season. Some think it was strictly down to a change in storytelling. Others point out embarrassing mistakes, such as water bottles being spotted during key scenes, signaling to angry fans just how much passion was lost during the close of the series, even with all the money spent.

At first glance, one might be confused as to how The Crown could possibly cost so much money to make. After all, it's not a series that features magical creatures, dramatic war sequences, or globe-spanning film locations in the way some other pricey TV shows often do. And yet, the Netflix series finds itself in the race to become one of the most expensive TV shows ever made. There are a few key reasons why episodes of The Crown are so expensive, and much of it boils down to authenticity. Whether building replicas of palace locations to scale or using CGI to get specific moments in history just right, every dollar for the series went into as perfect a recreation of the story behind the British royal family as possible.

By Season 5, ScreenRant reports that episodes cost about $14.4 million each; with 10 total episodes, this represents a season-long budget of about $144 million. Some claim that the show costs anywhere between $6.5 and $13 million per episode. This would mean that spending across six seasons has likely eclipsed $600 million. There are still many real life controversies and tragedies concerning the British royal family that have yet to air; should the series continue with its current per-season budget, it's entirely possible the show will eventually have cost Netflix more than a billion dollars.

Andor exists in a very strange place for Disney+ and Lucasfilm. It was a slow-burn success story due in large part to so many disillusioned Star Wars fans and disinterested casuals initially choosing not to watch the show. However, extremely positive word of mouth caused audiences to eventually give the show a chance, and it has since come to be known as a major success, even going on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Drama. Andor is ultimately a prequel to a prequel, laying the groundwork for the movie Rogue One and the original Star Wars films. The effort to bring it to life required serious spending by Disney, which reportedly sunk over $645 million into both seasons of the series. When accounting for 24 episodes across two seasons, this works out to just under $26.9 million spent per episode.

It's not too difficult to understand why the series cost so much by modern standards. As the show is set in the Star Wars universe, many expect to see elaborate alien sets, tense space conflicts, and some use of special effects. And yet, while the price tag isn't too surprising, and some might think the success makes the price tag worth it, there are those who take issue with just how much Andor ultimately cost. As Forbes writer Paul Tassi notes, the more money Disney pours into a project like Andor, the less money it will have to support other projects, which could negatively impact the Star Wars franchise overall and any additional attempts at affective worldbuilding.

Like "Game of Thrones" before it, "Stranger Things" would come to represent a show that had a chokehold on TV pop culture for years while also helping to push nerdy subculture activities like Dungeons and Dragons into the mainstream. It would also experience a massive increase in spending as its popularity grew and storytelling required the right amount of CGI-based special effects. And, as with "Game of Thrones," the "Stranger Things" series finale would leave many fans unsatisfied.

During the earlier seasons of the hit Netflix series, episodes were said to cost about $4 million each. Yet, by the time "Stranger Things" reached its fifth and final season, the per-episode spending would balloon to about $40 to $50 million. Season 5 alone is thought to have cost Netflix well over $400 million. Though there are no official estimates as of now, some fans theorize the use of Prince classics like "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" also contributed to the huge ending budget.

When adding up the cost to create all five seasons of "Stranger Things," this show will have cost Netflix anywhere between $870 and $950 million. Had the show truly stuck the landing, some might be able to overlook its bloated budget. But as fans pick apart decisions made at the end, the expensive nature of the series may become more and more of a sore point over time.

Amazon Prime Video's "The Rings of Power," a prequel series set long before the events of the popular "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" films, was always on course to be a costly TV series. With Amazon reportedly pledging over $1 billion to its completion over five seasons, it will very likely be recognized as one of, if not the most expensive, TV shows ever made. In fact, Amazon's spending choices put the series on the road to being quite pricey before a single moment was filmed.

Variety revealed that Amazon had to pay the Tolkien estate $250 million to secure the rights to various characters and story arcs necessary to build out their version of the "Lord of the Rings" universe, a story meant to cover the events of the Second Age, long before anyone ever heard of a Hobbit named Frodo. Beyond gaining the legal right to tell the story of "The Rings of Power," many millions of dollars were spent not just on effects, but to film the series in many of the same locations as other "Lord of the Rings" projects. The cost of sets, costumes, and CGI added up quickly over the first couple of seasons, with some estimating that the series has already cost Amazon roughly $750 million, with the first season costing at least $465 million to film in its own right.

For all of Amazon's ambition for "The Rings of Power" and its streaming platform, there's no way to ignore the fact that the show isn't nearly as popular as the company would have hoped. Some have outright deemed the series a huge flop. Likewise, it probably doesn't help that "The Rings of Power" accidentally found itself pitted against another pricey fantasy series connected to a massively popular franchise: the "Game of Thrones" prequel, "House of the Dragon."