Mariska Hargitay Makes 6 Figures Per SVU Episode, But Still No Match for TV's Highest Earners
Mariska Hargitay, who portrays detective Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU has featured in all 526 episodes.
To match Hargitay's commitment to the show, she has earned herself an impressive (estimated) $540,000 per episode. This may sound like a substantial amount to be paid for a season, however, concerning other shows' favorite actors and actresses, Hargitay's salary is pale by comparison.
Like Hargitay, actors whose roles become synonymous with the show over time get to name their price for their involvement. Although not all cast members always openly share their earnings, those that do show just how much you can make at the very top of TV stardom.
Similar to SVU, Ellen Pompeo who has starred consistently throughout the long series run of Grey's Anatomy, was offered an extended two-year contract in 2018, along with a promotion as a show producer and $575,000 per episode. The series very much rests on her shoulders now, as executive producer Shonda Rhimes stated, the show will continue as long as Pompeo wants to do it.
The success of a show is often built on the strength of its characters and actors, which is why such large salaries are possible to negotiate. During the 6-7 seasons, it was reported that fan-favorite Daryl Dixon played by Norman Reedus, was taking home $550,000 per episode on The Walking Dead. But still, not nearly as much as his co-star Andrew Lincoln, who was on a higher $650,000.
Of course, sometimes unequal pay between cast members is not as easily accepted. The cast of the 90's sitcom Friends eventually agreed to a staggering $1 million per episode each by its last few seasons. Later on, the cast of The Big Bang Theory did the same, with the original five cast members negotiating $1 million per episode as well. Other notable mentions which followed the $1-Mil president include Big Little Lies, several of the GoT cast, James Gandolfini from The Sopranos and Jerry Seinfeld from Seinfeld.
It seems the leading actors of sitcoms often do well. During the series' run, Kelsey Grammer was paid $1.6 million per episode for Fraiser. And around a similar time, Ray Romano was also paid an unbelievable $1.725 million for his own show Everybody Loves Raymond. Such high salaries weren't seen again until Charlie Sheen demanded a $1.8 million pay for Two and a Half Men. A show he was later fired from. Adjusting for inflation, each of these sitcom megastars was earning equivalent to over $2 million per episode. Almost four times as much as Hargitay's pay for SVU.
As of now, the two highest-paid stars on TV currently are listed as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon for their roles in the American drama series The Morning Show. As Hollywood A-listers and executive producers of the show, they both earn a reported $2 million per episode. Considering female cast members often struggle to negotiate higher salaries, it's good to see two women at the top of the list for a change.