These days, media content can take many shapes, and one of the greatest ones is TV shows on your television. Each series' cost may vary and even a single TV show episode cost may reach astronomical heights, like millions of dollars. Some can even take the title of the most expensive TV show! But which series has the highest-cost episodes?
When talking about the cost of the episodes, it is important to understand the main competitors that we often see on the screen of our televisions. Some have decades of TV show content behind their name. It is not strange to hear a lot about the HBO TV Max shows. One might say that their reputation precedes them, with them being crowned as the kings of television. Others might still be building a name for themselves, like those of Apple TV shows. Powerful in their own way, they are still building up their content, investing more and more into individual episodes. While others find themselves in the middle, like those of AMC TV shows, which have garnered a strong cult following, and the invested money is seen throughout every episode broadcast.
But all of the attention is given to the individual series and their most famous episodes. These days, costs are climbing and the quality is just getting better. With the Lord Of The Rings show budget reported to be the highest on television, every episode is reported to be quite expensive. With Game Of Thrones’ cost per episode being “dethroned” by the Lord Of The Rings series, the list below might provide you an opportunity to see how much money the biggest budget TV shows spend on individual series. And, if you think the cost meets the quality, upvote it - if not, comment below which episode outshined it overall!
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#41 True Detective — $4-4.5 Million Per Episode
While movies are able to provide the look of a detective's everyday life, True Detective was able to reveal the world that the detectives live in. With a budget of $4-4.5 million per episode, this anthology series had the chance to showcase a variety of powerful actors and directors.
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#42 Deadwood — $4.5 Million Per Episode
While the Wild West was wild for its outlaw activity, the budget for this series was wild for other reasons. Historical costumes, props, horses, and other expensive elements soon brought the average budget of an episode to $4.5 million.
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#43 Boardwalk Empire — $5 Million Per Episode
Set in the United States of America during the costly era of prohibition, the need for authenticity and strong actors showcased just how much HBO was willing to spend to bring the era into the screens of televisions. With Martin Scorsese behind the series, this series racked up an average of $5 million per episode.
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#44 Rome — $9 Million Per Episode
He came, he saw, he conquered - a perfect description for the Rome series. Set in Ancient Rome and exploring the lives of the two most famous Roman rulers, this series’ costs came from the perfect cast, realistic costumes, and expensive sets.
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#45 Spartacus — $2 Million Per Episode
With Ancient Rome providing us with so many historical figures to learn from, one outshines them all - Spartacus. Boasting gorgeous costumes, fights, and parties, the cost average of an episode reaches the massive $2 million mark.
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#46 Narcos — $2.5 Million Per Episode
With Pablo Escobar being once reported to be the richest criminal in the world, the series that portrays his life had to boast a high budget too. Set in Colombia, it is reported that the first season cost $25 million, or $2.5 million per episode.
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#47 Terra Nova — $4 Million Per Episode
Fox being quite a famous network to watch shows on, it is not strange that the budget was huge. With $14 million alone being spent on the series pilot, the episode average reached $4 million.
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#48 Hemlock Grove — $4 Million Per Episode
With vampires and werewolves living in a small town, the correct budget had to be drafted to meet the expectations. With focus given to makeup and practical effects, the average cost of an episode reached $4 million.
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#49 World Without End — $5.7 Million Per Episode
When a history adaptation is involved, be ready to bring out the wallet to support the production. With a series like this, where props are up to par and the cast is phenomenal, you can be quite sure that the $5.7 million average budget surely paid off in full.
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#50 The Alienist — $7 Million Per Episode
When imagining the gilded era, it is not rare to think of luxury and outstanding set designs. An expensive adaptation of that era, this series cost the network an average of $7 million per episode.
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#51 Bloodline — $7-8 Million Per Episode
Sometimes, facing the past is the hardest thing one can do. Hosting a talented cast and crew, this series accounted for $7-8 million per episode, and the filming location, the Florida Keys, accounted for a big part of the budget.
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#52 The Defenders — $8 Million Per Episode
Combining the Marvel superheroes from different TV shows, this series is surely on the more pricey side. With Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist being the main characters of the series, the main budget was spent on the many great fights shown on the screen.
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#53 Sense 8 — $9 Million Per Episode
A sci-fi grounded to earth, Sense 8 effectively used its budget to showcase the powerful story. Taking place around the globe, most of the budget was spent on the licenses needed to film at various locations around the world.
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#54 Once Upon A Time — $4.5 Million Per Episode
It's a tradition that when you make a period piece for television, be sure to carry a full wallet with you. Being set in a fantasy world, a lot of the budget had to be spent on the modeling of many different creatures and great magical special effects.
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#55 Insecure — $3.5 Million Per Episode
When talking about HBO shows, this network is not ready to hold back its punches on the budget side of production. An episode of Insecure reportedly cost $3.5 million to produce in 2017.
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#56 Daredevil — $3.3 Million Per Episode
With Daredevil being one of the hallmarks of the Marvel roster of heroes, it was necessary to portray him in the best possible way. Costing $3.3 million per episode, with a $40 million budget per series, most of that budget was spent on rights and visuals of the show.
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#57 House Of Cards — $4.5 Million Per Episode
Politics can become mundane, with the bureaucracy involved, but the most exciting part hides between the sheets of paper. Set in Washington DC, this series, with its intrigue and beautiful visuals, brought the budget to a large sum of $4.5 million per episode. And you can tell that it paid off.
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#58 The Tick — $5 Million Per Episode
This series proves that superheroes can come from anyone, even from an ordinary person. While not commercially successful, the network behind The Tick didn’t hold back. With $5 million spent per episode, this series proved that money doesn’t mean success.
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#59 Jack Ryan — $8 Million Per Episode
A military and espionage-packed series, Jack Ryan is filled to the brim with awesome stunts and beautiful locations. With John Krasinski taking the main role of a CIA analyst, and with most of the visual effects being practical, one can be sure that the $8 million per episode mark surely paid off for this series.
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#60 Marco Polo — $9 Million Per Episode
While looks might mean a lot for some, for others - it’s just a part of the overall picture that makes a series perfect. Being a heavily dramatized series, Marco Polo couldn’t be saved by the beautiful costumes and cinematography and it drowned in the sea of mediocre success.
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