Top 10 Highest Grossing TV Shows of All-Time
Over the years, thousands of television shows have been made for our entertainment. And while some have garnered a niche fan base, others have turned into money-making machines.
So of all the ones ever made, let’s take a look at which ones have the distinction of being the “Top 10 Highest Grossing TV Shows of All Time”
10. Two and a Half Men
- Two and a Half Men originally aired on CBS from 2003 to 2015, and revolves around the lives of two brothers, Charlie and Alan Harper, as well as Alan’s son, Jake.
- Charlie is a wealthy, successful jingle writer who lives a carefree, womanizing, bachelor lifestyle from his beach house in Malibu, California.
- His younger brother, Alan, a neurotic chiropractor, lives a more serious, practical life, and often struggles financially as well as emotionally following his divorce.
- Living with both men is Alan’s son, Jake, a somewhat lazy and often clueless teenager caught between being a kid and starting to deal with the awkwardness of adolescence.
- This show mixes the family dynamics of Charlie’s bachelor lifestyle with the conservative nature of his brother trying to raise a son, often with humor arising from the clash of personalities.
- Popular for its humor, quirky characters, and catchy theme song “Men, Men, Men,” Two and a Half Men’s mix of slapstick and situational comedy made it a classic of the 2000s and 2010s.
- At the peak of its popularity, Charlie Sheen, who played Charlie, was making $1.8 million per episode, with CBS selling 30-second ad spots for $200,000.
- As a result, this show made $155 million per year in ad revenue alone, making it the tenth highest grossing TV show of all-time.
9. Everybody Loves Raymond
- This show aired from 1996 to 2005 on CBS and centers around Ray Barone, a sportswriter living in Long Island, New York with his wife Debra and their three kids.
- The central conflict of the show comes from Ray’s overbearing parents and older brother who live right across the street, leading to constant intrusions into Ray and Debra’s life.
- Everybody Loves Raymond became so popular that during its final two seasons it is estimated Ray Romano, who played the title role, earned an estimated $1.75 million per episode.
- This caused tension with other cast members, however, who were only making $160,000 per episode, despite their importance to the show.
- In response to this, Brad Garrett, who played Ray’s brother Robert, and other actors walked out on the show.
- Only after a new settlement of the cast’s salary was made did everyone finally agree to come back.
- And although it has been over two decades since the show ended, Ray Romano is reportedly still making $18 million per year through reruns.
8. Grey’s Anatomy
- Now in its 22nd season on ABC, Grey’s Anatomy is the longest running scripted medical drama series of all-time and shows no signs of slowing down.
- Known for its mix of intense hospital drama, complex relationships, and emotional storytelling, the show follows the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attending physicians as they train to become surgeons at the fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle.
- The plot centers around Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, and follows the intricacies of both her professional and personal life.
- In serving as the main character, Pompeo earns an estimated $22 million per season as well as an additional $6 to $7 million in equity points.
- Unlike other shows in which earnings amongst cast members can widely vary, often causing dissension on the set, several actors on Grey’s Anatomy are paid millions of dollars on an annual basis for their starring roles.
- Paying such salaries is not a problem, however, as Disney has earned an estimated $3 billion during the show’s run.
7. Seinfeld
- Considered one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in TV history, this show aired from 1989 to 1998 on NBC and was famous for creating catchphrases such as “Yada yada yada,” “No soup for you!,” and “Master of your domain.”
- The show centers around Jerry Seinfeld, a standup comedian living in New York City, and his interactions with a group of quirky friends.
- Known as “a show about nothing,” each episode typically explores the small, mundane, often absurd aspects of everyday life and, by design, offers no moral lesson or character growth in return.
- Co-creator and star of the show, Jerry Seinfeld, became the first television actor to earn $1 million per episode.
- According to the New York Times, 76.3 million people tuned in to the final episode, making it the fourth most-watched finale in television history.
- It is estimated Seinfeld, as well as fellow co-creator, Larry David, still earn between $40 and $60 million per year from the show’s re-runs.
6. Frasier
- A spinoff from another one of the “Top 10 Highest Grossing TV Shows of All-Time,” Frasier ran on NBC from 1993 to 2004 and follows the life of Dr. Frasier Crane.
- Following his divorce, Frasier returns to his hometown of Seattle to start a new chapter in his life as a radio psychiatrist, giving advice to callers on his talk show.
- In addition to his new career, Frasier has to navigate his new dating life, personal neurotic tendencies, and inflated sense of sophistication, all while handling family relationships with a live-in dad.
- Frasier is not only of the most well-received and loved TV shows of all time but, by far, the most successful spinoff series in history.
- A year after the show ended, Frasier had grossed more than $1.5 billion in revenues.
- In 2011, Netflix paid $200 million for streaming rights.
5. Cheers
- Set in a Boston bar of the same name, Cheers is considered to be an American classic which aired on NBC from 1982-1993.
- The show followed the lives, relationships, and humorous interactions of staff and regular patrons who frequented the establishment and treated it more as a “second home,” and in some cases first home, than a bar.
- Known as the place “where everybody knows your name,” Cheers served as a community hub where people came to unwind, bond, bicker, and share their joys and troubles.
- At the height of its popularity, NBC earned an average of $330,000 for every 30-second ad, which amounted to $2.6 million per episode.
- This was necessary since Cheers cost Paramount approximately $2.2 million per episode.
- Ted Danson, alone, earned $450,000 per show which at the time made him the highest paid actor on television.
- Three decades later, Cheers and its cast are still worth millions thanks to royalties and syndication earnings.
4. The Big Bang Theory
- Centered around a group of friends who are intellectually brilliant but socially awkward, The Big Bang Theory specifically follows how the lives of two physicists, Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, from Pasadena, CA are changed and enriched when they begin to interact with more socially adept people.
- The show ran on CBS for 12 seasons, 2007 to 2019, and remains the longest running multi-camera comedy series in history.
- The five main stars (Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar) were said to have earned nearly $1 million per episode during the show’s final seasons and even took pay cuts of $100,00 each in 2017 to ensure their co-stars (Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch) were justly compensated.
- During its run, The Big Bang Theory earned CBS between $125 and $150 million per season, with the show’s distributor, Warner Bros., receiving more than $1 billion through syndication.
3. Modern Family
- Another long-running sitcom, Modern Family appeared on ABC for 11 seasons, 2009-2020, and follows the lives of three interrelated families in a mockumentary format.
- While the families are all part of the same Pritchett-Tucker-Dunphy-Delgado clan, the show explores their relationships, challenges, as well as milestones, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential sitcoms of its era.
- Modern Family is credited with redefining how the modern American family is portrayed on television.
- While the stars of the show earned an estimated $65,000 per episode during its first season, by the final one all earned in excess of half a million dollars.
- USA Network purchased the syndication rights for the show for an estimated $1.8 million per episode.
2. Friends
- The one about six young adults living in New York City, Friends followed the friendships, careers, relationships, and personal growth of each individual within group.
- The show ran on NBC from 1994-2004 is regarded as one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, is still regularly watched through syndication, and is known for memorable catchphrases such as “we were on a break,” “I KNOW!” and “How you doin?”
- During the show’s initial season cast member’s earned a modest $22,500 per episode, but this ballooned to $1 million during the last two years of its run.
- At the time, this salary made Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow the highest paid television actresses of all time.
- It is estimated the cast, collectively, has earned in excess of $816 million since the show’s inception, with executive producers Mara Kauffman, David Krane, and Kevn S. Bright somewhere around $550 million.
- Yes, this is quite a bit, but nothing compared to the $4.8 billion Warner Bros. has reeled in.
1. The Simpsons
- Now running for 36 seasons, with more than 800 episodes, The Simpsons has the distinction of being the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series of all time.
- The show follows the everyday misadventures of a working-class family in the fictional town of Springfield, using humor to touch on social and political issues in the United States and the world.
- In 2013, Twentieth Century Fox TV and Twentieth TV sold the first-ever cable syndication and video on demand (VOD) sale of the animated series to FXX and FXNow for more than $750 million.
- In 2007, the release of The Simpsons Movie grossed another $527 million.
- And, apart from the television and film franchise, The Simpsons has also made billions of dollars in revenue through merchandise.
- Unlike other television shows, salaries for actors and actresses are not an issue when it comes to The Simpsons!
Like movies and music, television shows are an important part of our culture with many engrained into the fabric of our lives. And while thousands of shows have been created to varying degrees of success, and we all have our favorites, there are only a few which can boast as being one of the Top 10 Highest Grossing Television Shows of All-Time.