12 record-breakingly expensive TV series in which one episode costs more than some films (13 photos)

Today, the creators supply the cinema market with large-scale fantasy sagas about dragons, mystical serial adventures and realistic space blockbusters. And to create such products you need money, and a lot of it.





"Friends" - $10 million per episode



At one time, the series won the absolute love of television viewers. It became more popular from season to season, so it is not surprising that the actors' fees also increased rapidly. By the final seasons, the creators had to spend about 10 million per episode, which, as a rule, lasted no more than 22 minutes.

"ER" - $13 million per episode





In the 90s, the series held extremely high rating positions for a long time. The creators were not greedy and paid generous sums for the filming. However, as soon as George Clooney left the project and went to conquer the big screen, things began to decline rapidly.

"Anneal" - $11-16 million per episode



The series became one of Netflix's costliest failures. The creators spent insane amounts of money recreating the atmosphere of the 70s: spectacular costumes, decorations and complex musical numbers. However, unfortunately, the plot of the film let us down, so the project was closed after the 11th episode.

"The Crown" - $13-15 million per episode



The budget for the first season of the series alone was $156 million. The creators had to take care of both the scenery and the actors' costumes. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that each episode turned out to be practically “golden”.

Game of Thrones: $15 million per episode



The scope and entertainment of the series fully justify the amount that had to be invested in its development. The first seasons, of course, were somewhat cheaper.

"See" - $15 million per episode



Apple managed to create a good series that tells an interesting story about a tribe of blind people. The company had to pay a tidy sum for each episode, but, unfortunately, the project did not gain much popularity.

"The Mandalorian" - from $15 million per episode



The creators tried their best to film the series while investing in a reasonable budget. However, all sorts of graphic and technical nuances required large expenses. The Baby Yoda doll alone cost $2 million.

House of the Dragon - $20 million per episode



The Game of Thrones prequel cost the company a little more than a full season of the original story. Maybe it's the dragons. After all, the heroes have been flying them since the first episode.

WandaVision - $25 million per episode



Marvel and Disney are not used to saving on their projects, so they are happy to invest gigantic sums in their creation, paying special attention to special effects and the geography of filming.

Stranger Things - $30 million per episode



The series is considered one of the most successful projects of the Netflix streaming platform.

"Citadel" - $50 million per episode



Rumor has it that "Citadel" was supposed to become a new Bond film. However, unfortunately, the inflated budget did not save the series from low ratings and negative reviews from critics.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" - $58 million per episode



Today the series is considered the most expensive television project in cinema history. The purchase of film rights alone cost the company $250 million.