Ashton Kutcher Making $700k Per Episode for 'Two and a Half Men'
by Richard Sharp
According to a new report in the latest issue of TV Guide, Ashton Kutcher will be making $700,000 per episode for the new season of "Two and a Half Men."
That's $500,000 per episode less than Charlie Sheen, but still more than J Lo is reportedly making per episode for season eleven of "American Idol."
J Lo is making $20 million next year on "American Idol," and last season the show had 39 episodes, so assuming there's no drastic changes in show structure, that's $512k (more or less) per episode.
According to the report, Tim Allen, Ted Danson and Kiefer Sutherland make $225,000 an episode for their shows (the mag will release further salaries tomorrow), and they point out that "the general rule across the TV business is to keep lead performers on new network prime-time series to $125,000 an episode."
Nice work if you can get it.
The rising cost of obtaining big name stars isn't always good news for actors. This month, contract negotiations based on increased salary demands from the cast of "Desperate Housewives" resulted in the cancellation of the popular ABC series.