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TV's highest-paid stars

September 19, 2012 at 3:41 PM

Charlie Sheen At $2 million an episode, the original “Two and a Half Men” star was the highest-paid TV actor in Hollywood. Winning! (AP Photo/CBS, Greg Gayne, File)

Ashton Kutcher The “Two and a Half Men” star is getting a whole lot of money. Word is the actor is paid $1 million an episode, although it’s not clear if that fee also accounts for back-end profits from re-runs. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond, file)

Jennifer Aniston Remember the “Rachel” haircut? Back when hit the sitcom “Friends” was on the air, the well-coiffed star wanted to be well paid. NBC caved, and the six castmates cut a deal for $1.2 million an episode, each. (NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Michael C. Hall The show almost didn’t go back on. If the reports are true, the “Dexter” star was holding out from filming Season 7 over a dispute with his contract. The actor wanted $24 million for two seasons, which would give him a cool million an episode. Showtime came up with $20 million, which is still a generous $800,000 per episode. We assume, with the season in production, all’s well that ends with a raise. (AP Photo/Showtime, Peter Iovino)

Mariska Hargitay Hargitay, who has been playing Detective Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for 13 years, is the highest-paid actress in a prime time drama, reportedly making $500,000 per episode. The actress, who won an Emmy in 2006 for the role, just inked a deal for a 14th season. (Eric Liebowitz/NBC)

Courteney Cox Before she was a cougar, the actress was a very well-paid friend. The neurotic Monica pocketed $1.2 million an episode for the last season of “Friends.” For comparison, other TV series stars at that time, such as Debra Messing from “Will and Grace,” received $250,000 an episode. (J. Delvalle/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Jon Cryer Cryer, one of the titular characters of “Two and a Half Men,” doesn’t make as much as the show’s bigger stars, Ashton Kutcher and Charlie Sheen before him. But Cryer’s salary is still nothing to cry about: he reportedly earns $600,000 per episode on the hit CBS show. (AP Photo/CBS, Michael Ansell)

Tina Fey Fey, the star and producer of critical darling “30 Rock” -- now entering its last season -- earns $350,000 an episode. (Ali Goldstein/NBC)

Hugh Laurie The cranky Dr. House of the Fox medical drama “House” must have at least known the prescription for his salary: $700,000 an episode. (Jordin Althaus/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Sarah Palin The former Alaska governor, who became a media star after joining the Republican ticket for vice president in 2008, was paid far less than what she asked for her reality show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” The tea party darling had demanded $1 million an episode, but instead had to be content with $250,000 for each of the eight episodes on TLC. (AP Photo/Discovery Communications, Gilles Mingasson)

Matthew Perry The “Friends” star got a hefty raise his last year with the show. The actor, along with his fellow cast members, took in $1.2 million an episode plus a portion of syndication profits. Not bad, Chandler Bing. (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros./Everett Collection)

Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman By the time their show ended in May 2012, these Desperate Housewives were among the highest paid stars on TV. The four actors, who reportedly got along well, likely negotiated together and commanded a stunning $400,000 per episode each. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)

James Gandolfini The star of “The Sopranos” tried a trick Tony Soprano would have appreciated: He asked for a mind-boggling $2 million an episode. What he got -- $800,000 a show -- almost seems like a bargain in comparison. (HBO/courtesy Everett CollectionHN)

Jerry Seinfeld The “Seinfeld” comic’s million-dollar-an-episode deal left his cast mates -– who made $150,000 a show -- fuming. NBC finally gave in, agreeing to pay the supporting cast $600,000 an episode, each. (George Lange/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Lisa Kudrow The raise to $1.2 million per episode didn’t make Kudrow the highest-paid star on TV. Actors such as Kelsey Grammer and Ray Romano made more. But the money did reportedly keep the actress, who played the kooky Phoebe, from bolting from the show.

David Schwimmer Dr. Ross Geller may not have gotten respect on “Friends.” But the actor certainly commanded a serious salary. In the last season, Schwimmer received $1.2 million an episode. He will next appear with former co-star Lisa Kudrow in Showtime’s “Web Therapy.” (NBCU Photo Bank)

Marg Helgenberger The “CSI: Crime Scene Investigators” actress earned at least $375,000 per episode for her portrayal of Catherine Willows, a former show girl-turned-blood spatter analyst. She left the show earlier this year to pursue other projects, but if she’s short on cash, CSI’s producers have left the door open for her if she wants to return. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

Ray Romano The star of “Everybody Loves Raymond” must have loved his salary. Romano, who won an Emmy in 2002 for his portrayal of the show's titular character, banked $1.8 million an episode. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Matt LeBlanc Joey might have been a little slow on the TV show “Friends,” but the actor was no dummy when it came to money. The star received $22 million for the last season of the show, which brought back all six cast members at $1.2 million an episode each. (J. Delvalle/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Kyra Sedgwick Sedgwick called it quits after six seasons as the star of the TNT hit “The Closer.” The actress, who won an Emmy in 2010 for her portrayal of no-nonsense LAPD Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and who was also a producer on the show, reportedly earned at least $350,000 per episode. (AP Photo/Turner Broadcasting, Danny Feld)

What do Ashton Kutcher, Michael C. Hall, and Jennifer Aniston have in common? They have all taken in million-dollar paychecks -- per episode -- for their popular TV shows. Check out the eye-popping fees of these Emmy favorites (some of whom will be going for the golden statuettes at this year's ceremony). -- By Claudine Zap

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