The Big Bang Theory Still Makes $1 Billion Per Year, But How Much Of That Are The Main Stars Still M
Highlights
- The Big Bang Theory cast members were paid a staggering amount per episode in the later seasons, with Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, and Johnny Galecki earning $1 million each.
- The main trio of Parsons, Cuoco, and Galecki each own 1% of the show's earnings, which amounts to an annual $10 million extra income for them.
- The cast has remained close after the show ended, with strong friendships formed between some of the members.
In 2019, The Big Bang Theory wrapped after 12 seasons — two seasons longer than its frequently compared sitcom, Friends.
While the latter ended due to the characters moving on with their lives, the former did after Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper, decided to quit.
Back then, the rest of the cast, especially Johnny Galecki felt blindsided by the news. "I just disagreed with how it was handled," said the actor who played Leonard Hofstadter.
"We thought we were going into [co-creator] Chuck [Lorre]'s office to talk about renegotiating, and then Chuck tossed the baton to Jim. And Jim was shocked and obviously caught off guard."
The two remain good friends to this day. However, it seems like Galecki has fallen off the grid following the series, unlike Parsons and Kaley Cuoco (Penny) who went on to star in other shows like HBO's Emmy-winning, The Flight Attendant.
We get it, though; the cast still makes millions off TBBT anyway. Here's how.
How Much Did The Bang Theory Cast Get Paid For The Show?
Many reports say that the five lead stars were supposed to be making $1 million for each episode by the final season. Parsons started making $1 million per episode in 2017. He started out with a mere rate of $60,000, which eventually grew to $300,000 by season 8. He was even included among Forbes' top-paid TV actors in 2017 after making $27.5 million from the show.
Cuoco, who also started with the same salary eventually made $1 million per episode in the later seasons. In 2018, Forbes declared her as TV's second top-paid leading actor, making about $24.5 million from the series. In 2017, Galecki placed second to Parsons in the highest-paid TV actors list. By that time, he's earned a total of $26.5 million from the show, coming from the same initial salary.
While Simon Helberg (Howard Holowitz) and Kunal Nayyar (Raj Koothrappali) only made $45,000 at the start of the series, Forbes reported in 2017 that they were making $26 million and $25 million, respectively. At that time, they were also said to be making $24 million a season.
Despite having the same starting salary as Helberg and Nayyar, Melissa Rauch (Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz) and Mayim Bialik (Amy Farrah Fowler) were only given a slight boost, making $200,000 per episode by the last season. Thanks to their co-stars who took a $100,000 pay cut each for every episode, they got to receive $425,000 each.
How Is The Cast Of The Big Bang Theory Still Making Money Off The Show?
Parsons, Galecki, and Cuoco each own 1% of the show's total earnings for Warner Bros. It's estimated to be about $1 billion every year. Although their share doesn't sound like a lot, it's still an annual $10 million extra income for them. As a result, the three have amassed massive net worths: Parsons, $160 million; Galecki, $100 million; and Cuoco, $110 million.
In 2020, Cuoco told The Hollywood Reporter that she was vocal about the pay gap between her and the lead actors. "It was such a different time 13 years ago," she said of fighting for equal pay. "I remember with my team, and even [creator] Chuck [Lorre], there was no conversation that I wouldn't have parity with those two guys."
She continued: "I'm lucky that I had people to pave the way for me and that no one balked." In an interview with Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, Cuoco recalled how she and Galecki shared their wins together. "Johnny and I were very close and we were partners in this whole thing so we got to share the celebrations together," she said.
"We were like 'Can you believe we did that?' We did that together," she continued. "After the first negotiations [for their $1 million [paycheck], we had a lot of the same team so we would get together and have these big meetings."
"Then after we'd walk outside in disbelief and we would cry... We would have these long late-night conversations where we would be bawling because he and I both knew this would never happen again because it won."
Is The Cast Of The Big Bang Theory Still Friends?
The cast of TBBT has remained close all these years. When PopCulture asked Bialik if their friendship would continue after the show, she answered: "I can't imagine that we wouldn't. I had a dream that we all went hiking together, and I was asking everyone, 'Why didn't we do this before?'"
It also seems like the cast has made some strong friendships. For instance, Galecki and Parsons formed a bond over shared trauma. They'd both lost their dads in vehicle collisions when they were younger. The former's father died between April 30, 1975, and April 29, 1976, when he was 16 while the latter's father passed away on April 29, 2001. The actor was 28 years old at that time.
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