How Much Actors Of Color Are Paid Per Episode For Your Favorite Shows

Stop whatever you’re currently doing at work (if you’re still at work like some of us), and look into some acting classes. Memorizing lines and pretending to be a character for a living is definitely where the money is. According to a survey done by Variety on the earning power of stars in primetime, daytime, late-night and news television, it’s clear that we’re all toiling away in the wrong industry. When folks (make that three people actually) are making $1,000,000 an episode to star on the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, which is just a 30-minute show, one can’t help but wonder how they can get in where they fit in…

Seriously, though. Some of your favorite stars from your favorite shows are getting paid the salaries of a few individuals put together just to film one episode of your favorite show. Don’t believe me? Just watch.

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Viola Davis

Laugh on, Viola! The How to Get Away with Murder star reportedly makes about $250,000 per episode for the hit ABC drama.

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Kerry Washington

Clocking similar figures, the lady leading the Scandal mothership is also taking home a reported $250,000 from ABC.

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Taraji P. Henson

Aside from receiving critical acclaim for her portrayal of Cookie Lyon on Empire, Taraji P. Henson is also receiving $175,000 per episode.

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Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross has come a long way from her days of receiving checks from networks like UPN and BET. Now that she works for ABC on the show Black-ish, Ross takes home $80,000 an episode.

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Gina Rodriguez

Lovely Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez gets $60,000 an episode from the good folks over at the CW.

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Terrence Howard

There would be no Empire without Terrence Howards’s character of Lucious Lyon. The leading man takes home $175,000 an episode, just like Henson.

FOX

“The Lyon Kids”

According to Variety, Jussie Smollett, Bryshere Y. Gray and Trai Bryers, otherwise known as “The Lyon Kids,” make $20,000 per episode of Empire. 

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Robin Roberts

You have to give Robin Roberts some credit — it can’t be easy to wake up and go to work at the crack of dawn every morning during the weekday. But then again, she only works a few hours a day…

Anywho, for that, Roberts collects between $10-$14 million per year for Good Morning America.

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Anthony Anderson

Anthony Anderson takes home slightly a bit more than Black-ish co-star Tracee Ellis Ross with his $100,000 per episode salary.

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Andre Braugher

Veteran TV actor Andre Braugher, who currently is a star on Fox’s popular comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, makes $100,000 an episode.

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Dwayne Johnson

“The Rock” is the highest-paid man of color on television right now. Johnson collects a reported $400,000 per episode for HBO’s Ballers.