5 Most Expensive TV Shows Of All Time
Thanks to the advent of HBO and Netflix, TV shows now have the muscle and the money to match up to large scale Hollywood movie productions. Which of course, heats up the competition and adds pressure on producers to make shows that somehow stand out in the sea of a million, all of which are available on demand. They are countering the competition with a no-holds barred policy when it comes to spending money. Here’s a quick look at the crazily high figures that go into the production of our favourite shows.
THE CROWN:
Priced at over $130 million per season, this royal biopic takes the crown (pun intended) for being the most expensive show in television history. The tale of Queen Elizabeth II owes its expense to a large cast and lavish production values to accurately recreate the period settings.
ER:
The insanely successful medical drama that made George Clooney a household name galloped from $1.9 million per episode to a staggering $13 million per episode. Seeing the record-breaking ratings in 1996 & 1997, the producers were eager to keep Clooney on the show to maintain the high viewership. Around $440 million was spent in a span of 2 years, which ultimately failed to further increase the ratings. Adding to the troubles, Clooney also ended up walking out of the show in 1999.
GAMES OF THRONES:
This one here is a no-brainer. Even a two minute trailer of this show is enough to make you understand that truck-loads of money has gone into its production. Each episode of GoT is said to cost a whopping amount of about $10 million. The Battle of Bastards, one of the most expensive episodes of the show, had around 600 crew members(cameramen & prop masters), 500 background artists(belonging to the 2 armies; who were separately trained to make the battle look more realistic), 70 horses, 160 tons of gravel and 25 stuntmen! The battle scene alone took 25 days to shoot.
FRIENDS:
Surprisingly enough, each episode of Friends also cost $10 million. The costs were however not related to creating huge sets, or having a large number of background artists. They’ll be there for you, just as long as you keep the money coming. The salary of each of the leading cast of this show was a whopping $1 million per episode.
ROME:
Rome was a huge hit with the critics but sadly, it is said to have priced its own self out of the game. With a budget of around $10 million per episode, the show couldn’t hold its own despite having won 7 Emmy Awards – HBO had to make the tough decision of axing the show after just 2 seasons.