However, in the streaming era, TV productions are no longer thought of as low-budget amusement movies. As a result of the pandemic’s impact on viewers’ viewing habits worldwide, more and more studio executives are coming to believe that streaming may be the medium’s future.When it comes to many new TV shows, the same may be said about the record-breaking Marvel productions that are notoriously expensive to produce. To pique audiences’ fickle interest, streaming behemoths like Disney, Netflix, Apple, and Amazon often pour vast sums of money into new endeavors.
List Of The Most Expensive TV Shows Of All Time
1. “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Amazon Prime Video) – $58.125 million per episode
If you thought the fourth season of “Stranger Things” was expensive, wait till the new “Lord of the Rings” series on Amazon Prime Video premieres.
The first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which will premiere with eight episodes in September, will reportedly cost $465 million to produce on Amazon (AMZN), according to Variety.For comparison, the total cost of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy was $281 million.
2. “Stranger Things” (Netflix) – $30 million per episode
One of the most costly television seasons ever is about to premiere with “Stranger Things.”The fourth season of the sci-fi drama with 80s influences cost $270 million in total, or $30 million each episode, for its nine episodes.That is almost equal to the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” ($275 million) production budget and double the price of Leonardo Dicaprio’s “The Revenant” ($135 million).
3. Marvel series (Disney+) – $25 million per episode
The cost to make a Marvel television program, from “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” to “Hawkeye” and “Moon Knight,” is reportedly $25 million each episode.As Disney raises its content spending, that number is expected to increase much further.
Disney intends to raise its expenditure on direct-to-consumer content and production by $800 million to $1 billion in the current quarter compared to the same period last year, CFO Christine McCarthy said during the company’s fiscal Q1 2022 earnings call.
CEO Bob Chapek said, “Content, content, and more content.”
4. “The Pacific” (HBO) – $20 million per episode
The reported budget for each episode of HBO’s “The Pacific” was $20 million.The ten-episode military miniseries from 2010 cost HBO $200 million in total, despite having only ten episodes.
5. “The Morning Show,” “See” (Apple TV+) – $15 million per episode
For the creation of two seasons (20 episodes) of “The Morning Show,” Apple (AAPL) shelled out a mind-blowing $300 million, according to Bloomberg.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon each made $1.25 million every episode.
A similar multi-million dollar budget was used for “See,” another Apple TV+ series starring Jason Momoa.
6. “Game of Thrones” (HBO) – $15 million per episode
The budget for HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” a pop culture hit, increased substantially over time.According to Variety, the fantasy drama’s first season cost roughly $6 million each episode, but by its final season, that cost had risen to $15 million.
The publication also stated that the planned prequel to “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon,” has a budget that is comparable to that of its predecessor.Even with more CGI dragons than “Game of Thrones,” the first season of the new 10-episode series, which premieres on August 21, cost less than $20 million per episode.
7. “ER” (NBC) – $13 million per episode
NBC spent around $13 million each episode in 1998 to keep “ER” on the air.
NBC had recently lost the AFC football contract to CBS and was about to lose “Seinfeld.”The long-running medical drama featured George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross for five seasons. He received two Primetime Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations for the role.
8. “The Crown” (Netflix) – $13 million per episode
The first season of “The Crown” on Netflix, which required extensive costume, reportedly cost the streaming service $13 million each episode, according to numerous industry publications.The series’ popularity increased after its November 2016 release, sparking speculation that Queen Elizabeth herself was watching it.
9. “The Mandalorian” (Disney+) – $12.5 million – $15 million per episode
The first live-action “Star Wars” TV series produced by Disney (DIS) helped launch Disney+ into early streaming success, but it came at a steep cost.At the time, Bob Iger, a former CEO of Disney, disclosed that the production of the show cost the firm “about $100 million,” or $12.5 million for each episode. According to some sources, the episode budget could have reached $15 million.
10. “Band of Brothers” (HBO) – $12.5 million per episode
HBO’s (WBD) “Band of Brothers,” which debuted in 2001, cost $12.5 million each episode to produce.
“Band of Brothers,” a 1992 nonfiction novel that served as the basis for the American war drama miniseries, starred up-and-coming actors Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Michael Fassbender, and Donnie Wahlberg.It was also one of the first high-budget programs to air at the time on a little television network.
