Costner in “Yellowstone.”
Paramount Network
- Kevin Costner earns $1.3 million per episode for Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone,” according to Variety.
- Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and Sylvester Stallone are all earning $1 million for other Sheridan series.
- “Yellowstone” is the biggest TV series on cable.
“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan is one of the most high-profile TV creators in the industry today, and some of the biggest stars of his shows are reportedly raking in huge paydays.
“Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner is earning $1.3 million per episode for the Paramount Network series, the biggest show on cable, according to Variety.
The show’s season-four finale on January 2 was watched by 9.3 million viewers the day it aired, the biggest cable telecast since 2017. Paramount Network has renewed the series for a fifth season.
Variety also reported on Wednesday that Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, the stars of Sheridan’s upcoming Paramount+ “Yellowstone” prequel “1923,” are both making $1 million per episode.
Sylvester Stallone, who’s starring in Sheridan’s “Tulsa King,” is also making $1 million an episode (that series is also set to premiere on Paramount+ but isn’t part of the “Yellowstone” franchise).
Representatives for Costner, Ford, Mirren, and Stallone did not immediately return requests for confirmation from Insider.
The paydays are of note because six figures is typically as high as any network or streaming service is willing to go; many are aiming to put the cap at $1 million today as they look to rein in costs, according to Variety.
Sheridan recently struck a deal with Paramount to create TV shows for the company, most of which will premiere on its streaming service Paramount+. The streaming rights to “Yellowstone,” however, belong to rival NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
Sheridan’s first “Yellowstone” prequel, “1883,” was the most-watched original series for Paramount+ yet, according to Paramount.
