Streaming Stars Still Command Million-Dollar TV Salaries

Top television stars continue to secure substantial per-episode pay despite a slowdown in original series production. Zendaya earns $1 million an episode for Euphoria, while Sylvester Stallone receives $2 million for Tulsa King. Harrison Ford and Shrinking co-star Jason Segel each earn $1.3 million per episode, and Chris Pratt makes $2 million for The Terminal List.

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon each earn $2 million per episode of The Morning Show. Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short make about $1 million apiece for Only Murders in the Building. Jennifer Garner has also passed the $1 million mark for Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend.

A talent agent said the demand for stars who can lead series has helped push pay to levels that once would have been unusual. Shorter streaming seasons can also draw film actors, offering a smaller time commitment than the long broadcast seasons of earlier years. California’s ban on using an actor’s previous salary as a negotiating baseline has also shifted pay discussions toward the role, an agent said.

The gains are concentrated among prominent performers; actors in the middle of the industry face a tougher market. Broadcast networks are still bringing in well-known leads, with starting pay reported at $250,000 to $350,000 per episode, potentially rising if a show succeeds. Ray Romano remains the record holder for a scripted TV salary, earning $1.94 million per episode in the final season of Everybody Loves Raymond in 2005—equivalent to about $3.2 million in November 2026 dollars after inflation.