'Yellowstone' star Kevin Costner becomes HIGHEST-PAID star on TV with $1.3M per episode

With the growing success of the show, Costner saw his salary bump up after his starting salary of $500,000 an episode
UPDATED JUL 21, 2022
Kevin Costner and Mahershala Ali (Getty Images)
Kevin Costner and Mahershala Ali (Getty Images)

Kevin Costner's 'Yellowstone' might have missed out on the Emmys again, but the blockbuster Paramount show has been good to the Hollywood veteran as he is the highest-paid actor per episode on TV. The 67-year-old makes an estimated $1.3 million per episode for Season 5 of the Western-themed drama per reports. He ties with 'The Plot' star Mahershala Ali who reportedly makes the same amount.

His portrayal as patriarch John Dutton whose family has owned a ranch in Montana for six generations was widely well-received, and the show was critically-acclaimed as well. The drama was impressive by the season and according to The Daily Mail, the audience that tuned in for Season 4 was four times the size of the audience that saw the first installment. With the growing success, Costner saw his salary bump up as well after his starting salary of $500,000 an episode. Now, he gets an extra $100,000 per episode to return for more episodes.

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The series premiered in 2018 on Paramount and is one of the flagship shows for their streaming network, Paramount+. The series puts the spotlight on rural America where local businesses are bleeding wealth and power in a changing country landscape.

The latest news was the show's snub as it failed to make the nominees. 'Better Call Saul' (AMC), 'Euphoria' (HBO), 'Ozark' (Netflix), 'Severance' (Apple TV+), 'Squid Game' (Netflix), 'Stranger Things' (Netflix), 'Succession' (HBO), and 'Yellowjackets' (Showtime) were the shows the made the cut instead. It was a shock to fans that a show that pulled more than 10 million viewers was left out. Costner missed out on an acting nomination as well.

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Mahershala Ali is the other TV star who rakes in the same as Costner. The 48-year-old is paid $1.3 million per episode for the currently in production mini-series 'The Plot' for Disney+ and Hulu. Ali has been one of the decorated names in Hollywood and is a two-time Oscar winner. Other stars who touch the $1 million-per-episode mark as Sylvester Stallone, Michael Keaton, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Jason Sudeikis.

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