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Sex and the City is back. This week Sarah Jessica Parker released a short teaser to her 6.5 million followers, two decades since the Carrie Bradshaw actress trotted down New York in that tutu. The reboot dubbed And Just Like That will feature 10 half-hour episodes and has been met with drama and plenty of questions. Including, how much the SATC women are slated to earn in their hotly-anticipated return.
Short answer: a pretty penny.
Multiple sources have confirmed to Variety that Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis will each earn over $1 million USD per episode. The exact figure has not been disclosed with all three women serving as executive producers on the revived series. A statement from HBO Max says, “The new Max Original series is based on the book, Sex and the City, by Candice Bushnell and the original TV series created by Darren Star. The series will follow Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.”
Back in the series’ hay-day, Parker was believed to be earning $3.2 million per episode for the final three seasons thanks to producing credits, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Kim Cattrall (who won’t be returning to SATC), Nixon and Davis were said to be earning just $350,000 USD during the same time period. In 2008, the first Sex and the City feature film raked in over $418 million worldwide on a reported $65 million budget and in 2010 the second cinematic instalment (a major flop if you ask us) topped $290 million globally with a reported $100 million budget. From the box office earnings, Parker allegedly earned $15 million and $20 million respectively – her fellow cast members earned just $3 million for the first film.
We’re talking big numbers nonetheless. But how do these salaries compare to other cult television?
Friends has continued to be a symbol of ’90s sit-com and fashion royalty. Premiering on September 22, 1994, the six cast members Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer went on to appear in all 10 seasons. Business Insider reports that in season one, each star made just $22,500 USD per episode. This figure slowly rose after each season before jumping to $750,000 per episode in season seven and eight. By the final two seasons, each cast member was believed to be earning over $1 millions USD per episode.
At the time, Friends was averaging 24.7 million viewers a week – reportedly 2 million more than any other show on television. The last season aired in 2004.
Apple TV’s hit television drama, The Morning Show, featuring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon saw each actress earn $2 million per episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Nicole Kidman earned $1 million per episode for Big Little Lies as did Elizabeth Moss for The Handmaids Tale.
