There are many elements that go into making a show or a movie, resonate with the audience. And off lately, with so much variety in subjects and streaming platforms, audiences have been spoilt for choice. And so, makers are putting in ultimate efforts in making every show a visual treat, thereby making it nothing less than successful. In order to do so, the one indispensable requirement is ‘money’.
Speculations are rife, that every episode of the upcoming fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’ costed the makers a mind-boggling $30 million. With more money being put in the entertainment industry, let’s see a few of the most expensive TV production budgets in history.
1. Friends
What started in 1994, is popular even in 2022, albeit on other streaming platforms. Friends, with a massive fanbase ran ten successful seasons over many years. And the tenth season in 2003, saw every main character make $1 million per episode, thereby taking the sitcom’s budget to $10 million per episode.
2. Band of Brothers
Based on the 1992 non-fiction book by the same name, HBO’s Band of Brothers in 2021, used $12.5 million per episode. It was the first high-budget series that did not air on any major TV network at the time.
The Mandalorian
Disney’s first live-action ‘Star Wars’ series cost a whopping $100 million, making every episode worth $12.5 million.
4. Game of Thrones
The remarkable Game Of thrones, with every season saw an increase in production costs. While season 1 saw the series being made in $6 million per episode, the final season saw the production budget more than double, with $15 million per episode.
Its eagerly awaited prequel ‘House of the Dragon’, exceeds the above-mentioned budget, costing $20 million for an episode.
5. The Morning Show
Apple TV+, spent a massive $300 million into making two seasons spread over 20 episodes, of ‘The Morning Show’. Actors Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston took $1.25 million home, per episode
6. The Pacific
HBO’s miniseries Pacific, was allotted a production budget of $20 million for each episode. There were 10 episodes, making the series worth $200 million.
7. The Crown
With grandeur and royalty shown in the Netflix original series ‘The Crown’, every episode of the series took $13 million to be made.
8. The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power
Amazon Prime Video’s new “Lord of the Rings” series may cost anywhere around $465 million in production cost. With eight episodes, the series is touted to be released in September 2022.
9. Marvel series (Disney+)
With Spider-Man: No Way Home earning more than $1billion, even during the pandemic, Marvel increased their budgets, leaving no stone unturned in making WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye, successful. $25 million were spent on every episode of these.
