The 10 Most Expensive TV Shows Ever Made

10. The Witcher - Nearly $300 Million

If you’ve watched The Witcher, you’ve seen how quickly fantasy costs add up. Monsters, magic, battles, detailed costumes; it’s all there, and none of it is cheap. As the story follows Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer across different timelines, the scale keeps growing. Across just the first three seasons, Netflix reportedly spent close to $300 million.

9. Citadel - Approx. $310 Million

Here’s one that surprises almost everyone. While watching Citadel, you might wonder how a six-episode spy show ended up costing around $310 million. The answer lies mostly behind the scenes. The series went through major reshoots, creative disagreements, and multiple edits before Amazon settled on a final version. All of that added up fast. On top of the main series, Amazon also launched international spin-offs, pushing the overall cost close to $500 million.

8. The Boys - Over $350 Million

As a viewer, The Boys feels wild, chaotic, and over-the-top, and that chaos isn’t cheap. From graphic visual effects to massive action scenes and celebrity cameos, the show keeps raising the bar every season. The first season already cost about $11 million per episode, and later seasons only expanded in scale. Across multiple seasons and spin-offs, Amazon has already spent more than $350 million.

7. See - Approx. $360 Million

Watching See, you can tell Apple wasn’t cutting corners. The world feels vast and physical, with large outdoor locations, intense fight scenes, and a setting that looks completely lived-in. As you follow Jason Momoa’s character protecting children who can see, the scale of the production is always on display. Reports suggest Apple spent around $15 million per episode, putting the first two seasons near $240 million. By the time the series ended after three seasons, the total cost was believed to be around $360 million.

6. The Sopranos - Approx. $456 Million

The Sopranos looks simple; mostly conversations, family dinners, and therapy sessions. But as the show grew, so did its costs. Episode budgets climbed steadily, especially once the cast became major stars. James Gandolfini’s salary alone played a big role in later seasons. When you adjust everything for today’s money, the total cost lands around $456 million.

5. Andor - Approx. $645 Million

As you watch Andor, it becomes clear that the money went into realism rather than spectacle. There are fewer lightsabers and aliens, but far more focus on detailed sets, political tension, and grounded storytelling. Each season runs for 12 episodes, which is longer than most Disney+ series and adds significantly to production costs. Across two seasons, the budget reportedly reached around $645 million.

4. Game of Thrones - Over $700 Million

With Game of Thrones, you can literally see the budget rise as the seasons progress. Dragons grow larger, battles become more complex, and entire cities are built and destroyed. Early seasons were expensive but manageable, while later episodes cost up to $15 million each. Even with fewer episodes in the final season, costs skyrocketed. By the end of its run, HBO had spent over $700 million.

3. Stranger Things - Over $780 Million

If you started Stranger Things from season one, you can actually feel the budget grow as the show goes on. Early episodes were relatively modest, but later seasons turned fully cinematic. By season four, Netflix was spending close to $30 million per episode. That season alone cost around $270 million. Add rising actor salaries, heavy CGI, and longer episodes, and the total budget has already crossed $700 million.

2. The Crown - Over $780 Million

While watching The Crown, it’s hard not to notice how polished everything looks. Every decade brings new costumes, new sets, and new actors, all recreated with extreme attention to detail. That level of accuracy is expensive. Each episode reportedly cost more than $14 million, and each season hovered around $130 million. By the time the series ended after six seasons, Netflix had spent over $780 million.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Over $1 Billion

If any show was destined to break budget records, it was The Rings of Power. From the start, Amazon committed to spending whatever it took to bring Middle-earth back to TV. Season one alone reportedly crossed $700 million, and season two pushed the total beyond $1 billion. As you watch, the massive sets, sweeping landscapes, and heavy CGI make it clear where the money went.