TV shows that pay the most royalties today

Friends remains one of the most lucrative TV shows of all time, long after its final episode aired in 2004. Through syndication revenue, USA Today reported in 2015 that the show still brings in around $1 billion each year for Warner Bros. – and of that sum, a $20 million annual paycheck is given to each of its six leads.

The beloved sitcom, still a hit today following its ending in 1998, is earning its co-creators a staggering sum. According to Vulture, stars and co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David can earn up to $400 million per syndication cycle – it’s unknown how long this is for Seinfeld, but it’s typically a period of 1-5 years. 

While the other stars, like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, also earn residuals, they don’t own a stake in the show, so theirs are standard Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) payments – estimated to be a lot lower than the hefty sum its creators bring in.

Although the popular sitcom came to an end in 2019, its actors, who were consistently earning some of the highest salaries on TV, were estimated to continue their big earning beyond the show’s airtime. 

While the cast have never publicly shared about their residual earnings, Metro UK reported in 2019 that the lead cast could make around $10 million a year from reruns. Stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco each own a one per cent stake in the show’s total earnings, which are estimated to be around $1 billion a year.

The infamous animated sitcom may still be running, but it’s already earned former creators a hefty sum in royalties. TV writer Sam Simon, who co-developed the show, left in 1993, but revealed in a 2007 CBS interview that he was still making over $10 million annually from the show. Calling the money “ridiculous”, Sam donated his entire fortune before he passed away in 2015.

Sam’s ex-wife, Jennifer Tilly, also benefitted from the show’s success. In their divorce settlement, she secured a share of his ongoing Simpsons earnings, revealing on the Los Angeles Magazine’s The Originals podcast in 2021 that she still receives roughly a third of Sam’s ongoing profits from the series.

While many stars of the long-running procedural drama are estimated to take home over $100,000 per episode, former star Mark Harmon was bringing home a staggering amount for his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Mark was said to receive around $525,000 per episode, and combined with his producer credits and syndication royalties from previous seasons, meant he was making approximately $20 million a year.

Paramount’s Chief Content Licensing Officer also revealed in 2024 that the company has done over four and a half billion dollars of licensing on the NCIS franchise, so it’s likely the stars’ hefty royalties are going nowhere.

The classic sitcom made its stars household names, and its enduring popularity has meant many of them are still raking in jaw-dropping amounts in royalties. Star Kelsey Grammer reportedly earns $13 million in royalties every single year from Frasier, while in 2002, Jane Leeves, who played Daphne Moon, was the highest-paid British actress in history thanks to her role on the show and the residuals she was making.

By later seasons of the hit sitcom, its stars were reportedly earning between $100,000–$500,000 per episode, making them some of the highest-paid actors on TV. As part of their salary negotiations in 2012, the cast secured a cut of the series’ back-end profits, and with the show’s reported status as one of the highest-earning syndicated sitcoms, it’s likely the cast are taking home a high profit in residuals, though exact figures are unknown.