The Big Bang Theory is one of the best and most popular sitcoms of modern television. The geeky, Pasadena version of Friends or Seinfeld, this series follows a group of nerdy, socially awkward friends and coworkers — and their one really hot friend across the hall. We’re talking, of course, about Penny, the waitress and aspiring actress who’s played by Kaley Cuoco. The Big Bang Theory ran for an impressive 12 seasons, an eternity in TV land, running from 2007 to 2019. (What would Sheldon have thought about the COVID-19 pandemic? We wonder).
The show’s tremendous success birthed an entire franchise, which includes the prequel series Young Sheldon and its spin-off series about Sheldon’s older brother, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. A fourth series is reportedly in development for Max, which will thrust supporting character Stuart into the spotlight and will follow him, his girlfriend Denise, and geologist Bert Kibbler.
Additionally, the success of The Big Bang Theory launched Cuoco and her co-stars to fame and fortune. Cuoco’s total earnings from the show are estimated at a whopping $150 million — and that doesn’t even include residuals. But things certainly didn’t start out that way when Cuoco first signed onto the show, back when she was still just an up-and-coming actress.
Let’s hop into Sheldon’s time machine, revisit those past 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory, use some astrophysicist mathematics, and see just how much Cuoco made per episode.
Seasons 1 – 3: $60,000 Per Episode
Before The Big Bang Theory, Cuoco did have starring roles in other TV shows, like 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Charmed, the animated series Bratz, among others. But for the most part, she and her co-stars were unknowns when The Big Bang Theory first aired in 2007.
Even with Chuck Lorre’s name attached to the project, who had produced the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, no one knew if this show was going to work. Because of that, it’s no surprise that Cuoco and her castmates were paid modest salaries (in the TV world, at least) for the first few seasons of the show.
Cuoco, along with co-stars Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons, began at $60,000 per episode for the first three seasons. There were 17 episodes in season 1, and 23 episodes each for seasons 2 and 3. At $60,000 per episode, Cuoco raked in about $3,780,000 for the first three seasons of The Big Bang Theory. Not bad for an up-and-coming actress.
Season 4: $200,000 Per Episode
The Big Bang Theory had a rocky start. Its early seasons garnered mixed reviews from critics and audiences, but by season 3, viewership had picked up. The Big Bang Theory became a hit, which allowed Cuoco, Galecki, and Parsons to renegotiate their salaries. They settled on $200,000 per episode for season 4.
That comes out to $4,800,000 for the 24-episode season, which is more than what Cuoco made during the first three seasons combined. But it was worth it. Season 4 is where The Big Bang Theory really took off. The show became TV’s highest-rated comedy, just beating out the long-reigning #1 sitcom, Two and a Half Men.
Seasons 5 – 7: $200,000, Plus $50,000 Increase Per Season
Cuoco, Galecki, and Parsons didn’t just negotiate $200,000 per episode for season 4. They also, very smartly, negotiated a $50,000 pay increase for every subsequent season. In other words, Cuoco made $250,000 per episode in season 5, $300,000 per episode in season 6, and $350,000 per episode in season 7. That comes out to $6 million for season 5, $7.2 million for season 6, and $8.4 million for season 7.
Like our ever-expanding universe, there seemed to be no end in sight to Cuoco’s salary. And that continued to be the case when season 8 came along.
Seasons 8 – 10: $1 Million Per Episode
By season 8, The Big Bang Theory was one of the biggest sitcoms on TV. So naturally, Cuoco and her castmates took this opportunity to renegotiate their salaries. Cuoco, Galecki, and Parsons signed a three-year deal for $1 million per episode, plus back-end earnings. Cuoco raked in $24 million for seasons 8, 9, and 10…each. That’s a whopping $72 million excluding any back-end earnings — an astronomical number, even in the world of astrophysics. By season 10, even Cuoco’s co-stars, Simon Helberg (Howard) and Kunal Nayyar (Raj), who were historically paid less than their three counterparts, hit $1 million per episode.
This deal made Cuoco and her castmates some of the highest-paid actors on television. Fun fact: the highest-paid TV actor of all time is — drumroll, please — Sarah Jessica Parker for her role in HBO’s beloved series, Sex and the City. Parker was paid a whopping $3.2 million per episode back in 2001, which comes out to $5.6 million today.
Season 11 – 12: $900,000 Per Episode
By season 11, The Big Bang Theory was the undisputed #1 show on television. And for its final two seasons, Cuoco was making $900,000 per episode. But wait, why did her salary drop from the cool $1 million that she was making before? You might be asking yourself. There’s actually a very good and noble reason for Cuoco’s decline in pay.
Prior to season 11, Cuoco’s female co-stars, Mayim Bialik (Amy Farrah Fowler) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette), were making significantly less than their castmates. They were both paid $175,000 – $200,000 per episode, even though they both had starring roles. Cuoco and her millionaire co-stars — Galecki, Parsons, Helberg, and Nayyar — all honorably agreed to take a $100,000 pay cut to increase Bialik and Rauch’s salaries. This bumped up each actress’ pay to $500,000 per episode, a significant increase from what they were being paid before.
Meanwhile, Cuoco was left making only $900,000 per episode for seasons 11 and 12, leaving her with a meager $43.2 million for both seasons. Something tells us that Kaley Cuoco will be doing just fine, though, even with the cancellation of her TV series, The Flight Attendant, earlier this year.
