| Editorial staff
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15.09.2024
Both the peak of linear television and the streaming boom were accompanied by high-paying, multi-year deals for showrunners. A list compiled by Forbes of the 20 highest-paid of their kind in the North American market suggests that a similar trend is currently lacking – which is why it is primarily made up of veterans of the business.
A significant proportion of the people in the ranking are people who signed lucrative contracts several years ago or who have a large and sought-after archive of episodes. The era of “yacht money” is over, the magazine quotes an anonymous manager as saying.
The effects of Corona, two strikes and widespread austerity measures are dampening the current motivation of financiers to offer dream contracts at record conditions – and the fact that some deals of this kind have not paid off for every studio in the form of successful productions should not be ignored either.
This was estimated
In order to estimate the income of the showrunners gathered here as accurately as possible, Forbes Conducted interviews with agents, lawyers, managers, executives and industry experts and also used data sources such as IMDBPro.
The resulting figures refer to the period between September 2023 and September 2024, taking into account only showrunners who have released a format during this time. They are credited with all income from previous film or television productions; but not income from other ventures. In this sense, here are…
The 20 highest paid showrunners of last year
- Matt Stone and Trey Parker 162 million US dollars
Stone and Parker have been working together for over 30 years and owe their wealth to their ingenious creation “South Park”. During the evaluation period, the duo presented three specials about Cartman and co. for Paramount+ – and a package with eleven more of these special episodes, including the extension of the regular show until 2027, was worth a total of around 935 million to the broadcaster’s executives.
- Tyler Perry 136 million US dollars
Tyler Perry once told Forbes that “ownership changes everything”. It certainly pays off for him, as he owns a production studio and licenses the content produced there to broadcasters. During the period under review, he has placed films on Netflix and Amazon (“Mea Culpa”, “Divorce in the Black”), among others, and has made ten series formats palatable to BET alone, for example “House of Pain” and “Sistas”.
- James L. Brooks und Matt Groening 135 million US dollars
The two executive producers of the “Simpsons” had to settle for third place. While there is no end in sight for the long-running show with the family from Springfield, the 35-season archive in particular provides reliable income: According to Forbes, the “Simpsons” catalog has brought in more than a billion US dollars in the last five years. The comeback of “Futurama” after a break of several years also improves the figures.
- Dick Wolf 124 million US dollars
“Executive Producer: Dick Wolf” is more than just a meme: The 77-year-old expert in police formats also earned a three-digit million sum last year thanks to the long-running series “Law & Order” and spinoffs such as “Special Victim Unit”. At the beginning of the year, Wolf revealed to Forbes that he would like to continue producing until he is 100 years old – he is already a billionaire.
- Chuck Lorre 110 million US dollars
Lorre can qualify for the Forbes study period through the little-known series “Bookie”, whose ten episodes began airing in the USA last autumn. More well-known and lucrative formats, however, include “Two and a Half Men”, “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon” – and behind all of them is the 71-year-old, who concluded long-term advantageous deals during the heyday of television at the time.
- Seth McFarlane 76 million US dollars
As the man behind “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” McFarlane also benefits from an archive of over 700 episodes. In addition, four years ago he signed a deal worth 40 million US dollars a year that allows him to develop new projects. One result of this is the series adaptation of the famous bear “Ted,” which began at the beginning of the year.
- Shonda Rhimes 58 million US dollars
“Bridgerton” is very popular on Netflix, and the streaming giant is happy to pay producer Rhimes a few extra dollars through a performance-based bonus deal. She is also the creator of a certain series called “Grey’s Anatomy,” the 21st season of which will start in the USA at the end of September.
- Larry David 48 million US dollars
The twelfth season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” ended in April, with Larry David once again appearing as writer, producer and lead actor. As one of the creators of the groundbreaking sitcom “Seinfeld,” he is also assured of a continued royalty blessing – Forbes estimates that Netflix pays a total of around $100 million per year for the streaming rights.
- JJ Abrams 47 million US dollars
The most cinema-experienced showrunner in the top ten benefits from income from his involvement in franchises such as “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Wars”, but has been active primarily on the small screen with “Presumed Innocent” for Apple+ and “Batman: Caped Crusader” for Amazon over the past year. A deal between Abrams’ production company Bad Robot and Warner Bros. is also bringing in money.
- Greg Berlanti 40 million US dollars
The former author and producer of “Dawson’s Creek” achieved the unique feat of having 18 different formats on US television at the same time in the 2019/2020 season. Berlanti’s involvement in the so-called Arrowverse, which includes shows such as “Arrow,” “The Flash” and “Supergirl,” also contributed to this. In May, he produced “Atlas” with Jennifer Lopez for Netflix, with whom he still has a first-look deal.
- Taylor Sheridan 36 million US dollars (maker of “Yellowstone” and its spinoffs)
- David Benioff and DB Weiss 34 million US dollars (showrunner of “Game of Thrones” and “3 Body Problem”)
- Ryan Murphy 26 million US dollars (showrunner of “American Horror Story”, “Glee” or “9-1-1”)
- Greg Daniels $25 million (author of “The Office,” “In the Know”)
- David E. Kelley 24 Millionen US-Dollar (“Presumed Innocent”, “A Man In Full”)
- Alex Kurtzman 23 million US dollars (“Star Trek”)
- Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan 21 million US dollars (“Fallout”)
- Bill Lawrence 21 million US dollars (“Ted Lasso”, “Bad Monkey”)
- Michael Schur 20 Millionen US-Dollar (“Hacks”, “Parks & Recreation”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
- Tina Fey 19 million US dollars (“Girls5Eva”, “30 Rock”)
