Thanks to Netflix and HBO, TV shows are growing more and more expensive to produce, the likes of The Crown, The Get Down, and Game of Thrones all having huge budgets.
Time has worked out the seven most expensive TV shows of all time, and - surprise surprise - the most expensive come from lucrative streaming services.
The ‘cheapest’ show mentioned is Sense 8, the sci-fi Netflix series written by The Wachowskis that focusses on eight complete strangers who suddenly become emotionally linked. The show reportedly cost $9 million per episode.
HBO’s Rome and Game of Thrones both cost $10 million per episode, the former being far less popular and leading to the show being cancelled after two seasons.
In memoriam: Every major character who died in Game of Thrones season 6
34 show all In memoriam: Every major character who died in Game of Thrones season 6
1/34 Ramsay Bolton Fed to the hounds by his ex-wife
2/34 Tommen Baratheon Jumped out of a window
3/34 Rickon Stark Shot by Ramsay with an arrow
4/34 Grand Maester Pycelle Stabbed by little birds
8/34 Walder Frey Ticked off the list
10/34 Summer Ripped apart by White Walkers
14/34 Trystane Martell Stabbed through the face by those damned Sand Snakes
15/34 Leaf Blown up saving Bran
16/34 Walda Frey and her little boy Fed to the hounds
17/34 Balon Greyjoy Thrown off a bridge by his brother
18/34 Lady Crane Fell off a chair
20/34 The Waif Killed in the dark by Arya Stark
21/34 Lothar Frey and Black Walder Rivers Fray pie
22/34 Brother Lancel Lannister Stabbed once then blown up by Wildfire
23/34 Lem Lemoncloak Hung by the Brotherhood Without Banners plus The Hound
24/34 Brother Ray Hung by Leomoncloak and his gang
25/34 Three-Eyed Raven Killed by the Night’s King
27/34 Khal Rhalko, Khal Brozho, Khal Qorro, Khal Forzho, Khal Moro Burnt by the Mother of Dragons
28/34 Roose Bolton Stabbed in the chest by his own son
30/34 Smalljon Umber Beaten by Tormund
31/34 Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun That Goddamn Ramsay again
32/34 Osha Throat slit by Ramsay
33/34 Doran Martell Stabbed in the hearth by Ellaria Sand
34/34 Areo Hotah Stabbed in the spine by Tyene Sand
Surprisingly, Friends also cost $10 million. However, the costs weren’t production value like the HBO shows but the salary per main-cast member, each of whom made $1 million per episode.
The third most expensive show is ER, which starred George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, and Sherry Stringfield and cost $13 million per episode.
In second comes Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down, produced by Netflix for $120 million for the first season. This, however, is now only Netflix’s second most expensive show, being beaten by The Crown, the first season for which cost $130 million, making it the most expensive TV series of all time.
Meanwhile, in the film world, the upcoming third and fourth Avengers films are expected to be the most expensive films ever made, costing $1 billion in total.
Six7Six7 on August 8th, 2017 at 01:14 UTC »
New York apartments are expensive.
badamache on August 7th, 2017 at 18:44 UTC »
In Friends, the money went on actors' salaries. In GOT, if an actor asks for too much money, you can kill them off.
target_meet_arrow on August 7th, 2017 at 18:34 UTC »
It's still crazy that with a much bigger cast, CGI, VFX, filming locations, etc that HBO can pull that off.