The most expensive TV shows ever made

Creating a fantasy world doesn’t come cheap – packed full of sweeping battle sequences and intricate monster designs, The Witcher has been one of Netflix’s most ambitious productions from the get-go. With the addition of season four, it’s cost an estimated total of $720 million (£576 million) to bring Geralt’s world to life. From sprawling landscapes to lavishly detailed sets and costumes, every frame looks like it’s been pulled straight from a blockbuster movie – and the price tag proves it.

The most expensive cartoon ever made, Netflix were tasked with bringing the world of League of Legends to life in Arcane – despite only having two seasons, the show cost around $250 million (£197 million) to produce overall. The company spared no expense to detail, hiring the best animators to hand-animate each frame of the show manually, and each episode reportedly took around a year to complete. With staggering labour costs – and a big marketing budget for extras like an original soundtrack – it’s no wonder this series has a place on this list.

While the Apple TV+ hit, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, might not be an obvious content for one of the priciest shows of all-time, the absence of a fantasy setting didn’t slash this show’s budget whatsoever. 

Beyond the A-list salaries – its leading ladies reportedly walked away with $2 million (£1.56 million) per episode – the company poured a lot of money into sleek sets and film-level production crews. It marked their first major investment in original programming, a bold statement of intent as they entered the streaming wars. At an approximate cost of $17.5 million (£13.3 million) per episode, the show – which is airing its fourth season now – shows no signs of slowing down.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw a lavish adaptation of Robert Jordan’s sprawling fantasy epic The Wheel of Time as Prime Video’s answer to Game of Thrones, and it certainly came close in the budget department. The series had a budget of around $90 million (£68 million) per season, though it had reportedly reached over $260 million (£209 million) in total. From extensive CGI to major on-site filming locations across Europe, the show was a costly endeavour – Prime ended up cancelling the show in 2025 despite positive reviews, citing primarily the high cost of production.

Marvel alums the Russo Brothers helped produce this star-studded spy series for Prime Video, fronted by Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. The first season of Citadel reportedly cost a staggering $50 million per episode (£41 million) for the six-episode season, a cost reportedly driven up by extensive reshoots and creative overhauls, including the replacement of the original showrunner. Despite this, the show was renewed for a second season – slated for release in 2026 – and its two planned spin-offs will now feature in the main series, promising another pricey season of high-stakes espionage.

Before streaming services, HBO’s 1999 launch of The Sopranos redefined what television could be. The mob drama cost around $2 million (£1.3 million) in its early days before skyrocketing to around $7 million (£3.6 million) by its final seasons. With extensive on-location filming in New Jersey and increasing actor salaries – with Tony Soprano himself going on to rake in around $26 million (£13.3 million) per season – the show was one of TV’s original ambitious productions that still ranks among the most expensive series of all time to this day.

With no shortage of big-budget superhero flicks out there, Amazon had to match their energy when they made The Boys, a satirical show based on the comic book of the same name. The show has a reported budget of $11.2 million (£8.85 million) per episode, thanks to extensive CGI and special effects, and is set to release its fifth and final season in 2026. With two spin-offs and a prequel series in development, the production cost of Prime’s superhero magnum opus looks set to climb even further.

Reviving the Game of Thrones legacy was always going to be a costly endeavour, but with the success of the original series, HBO had every confidence plunging nearly $200 million (£164 million) into House of the Dragon’s ten-episode first season. This mammoth budget covered extensive CGI and visual effects necessary for a fantasy show – including no shortage of fire-breathing dragons, of course. Yet even a blockbuster franchise isn’t immune to budget cuts; season two was reduced from ten episodes to eight primarily to preserve money. Still, the show’s critical success suggests money well spent, with fans eagerly counting down the days for its third instalment.

The first – but not final – Star Wars appearance on this list, Disney+ hit the nail on the head when they adapted the intergalactic franchise for the small screen. The Mandalorian was their first foray into serialised Star Wars storytelling, backed by a substantial investment of around $100 million (£77 million) for its first season. The show was a critical hit that paved the way for the streaming service to back several other related series, and the spin-off film The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to release in 2026, bringing the show’s blockbuster production value to the silver screen.

One of Apple TV+’s most expensive TV endeavours yet (though Severance isn’t far behind), the streaming service entered the costly world of sci-fi with the Jason Momoa-led See. 

Depicting a world where humanity has lost the ability to see, specialists and biologists were consulted to create a believable dystopian world, and large-scale sets were built to further immersive viewers in a realistic setting. Each episode cost around $15 million (£11.75 million) to produce, a figure that only climbed over the show’s three-season run, also boosted by their star’s rising salary.

The definitive fantasy epic, Game of Thrones started off with a modest (by this list’s standards) budget of $6-10 million (£3.9-6.5 million) per episode, later leaping to $15 million (£11.75 million) by its final season – or $90 million (£70.5 million) across six episodes. The show not only filmed on-location across multiple countries, but built and rebuilt large-scale physical sets like that of King’s Landing and Winterfell. Adding on the staggering costs of cutting-edge VFX and rising star salaries as the series gained popularity, it’s not hard to see why this television juggernaut earned itself a top five spot on this list.

Disney’s most expensive Star Wars instalment, this prequel to Rogue One opted for more on-location filming and practical sets than its previous counterparts, a choice reflected in its astronomical production cost. Conceived as a two-season project, the series cost around $645 million (£505 million) overall to bring to life, bringing an unparalleled cinematic experience to their streamers’ small screens. Alongside practical effects, the show still required essential VFX for space sequences, not to mention premium salaries for its high-calibre actors.

One of Netflix’s most successful shows of all time, The Crown earned itself a royally high budget. Its final season in 2023 reportedly had a production cost of $143.3 million (£115.7 million), bringing the jaw-dropping estimated total to around half a million dollars, or just over £400 million. From lavish costumes (including 350 brand-new pieces in season one alone) to elaborate replica royal palaces and top-tier acting talent, this monumental investment allowed Netflix to deliver an authentically opulent portrayal of royal life, which contributed heavily to its groundbreaking success.

A period piece with a secret sci-fi underworld, it’s no wonder Stranger Things came with a hefty price tag. Its first season already necessitated an approximate budget of $48 million (£31.2 million), while its fifth and final installment – set to hit screens next month – cost an estimated $400-480 million (£313–376 million), a significant increase that’s set to see the show off in style. Outside of its major ensemble cast and supernatural visual effects, the show’s extended episode lengths and global marketing have also suitably upped the show’s total expenditure, pushing Stranger Things well past the cost of many blockbuster films.

There’s one series to rule them all, which is Amazon’s record-breaking foray into Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently the most expensive TV show ever made, with the streaming service having committed to producing five seasons after purchasing the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s books for $250 million (£192 million). Combined with the first season’s production cost of $465 million (£387 million), the series is pretty well set to surpass its pre-allocated $1 billion (£780 million). 

Outside of the pricey rights acquisition, large-scale filming in New Zealand, meticulous costume design, extensive CGI, and a long-term production plan have all contributed to this show’s astronomical cost, envisioned as a cinematic epic to complement the classic film series.

The pricey show may not hold this top spot for long though – HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series is set to eclipse it, with a projected budget of over $4.2 billion (£3.28 billion) across all seven books. With both The Rings of Power season three and Harry Potter season one both set to debut in early 2027, it’s shaping up to be a golden era for epic television – with equally epic expenses.