10 Highest Paid TV Actors of 2011

10. Courtney Cox

The former Friends star reprised her role as tabloid reporter Gayle Weathers this spring in Scream 4. But it’s her prime-time gig as star and executive producer of ABC’s Cougar Town that brings Cox the most attention — and dollars — with an estimated $275,000 per episode, that adds up to about $7 million per year. In late 2010 Cox split from husband of eleven years, Scream costar David Arquette.

9. Teri Hatcher

The one-time Lois Lane is a reigning queen bee on Wisteria Lane, where she pulls in an estimated $375,000 per episode, $9 million per year, for her role as Susan Mayer on ABC’s Desperate Housewives. Off-camera, Hatcher is developing GetHatched.com with Disney which she calls “a chick’s guide to life.” In 2010 Hatcher made headlines for posting un-retouched, make-up free photos online to prove she has not had plastic surgery.

8. Hugh Laurie

As cranky Dr. House on Fox’s long-running medical drama, Laurie continues to lure ratings and fans, and money with about $9 million in one year. But the Brit has hinted that next season, the show’s eighth, will be his last. He appears to have a second act in the works: his jazz and blues album, titled Let Them Talk, debuted at the number two spot on the U.K. charts in May.

7. Mariska Hargitay

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is the franchise’s strongest effort to date, averaging an estimated 53 million viewers each week including original episodes and extensive syndication. That equals about $10 in Hargitay’s pocket for the year!  EHargitay, rewarded with an Emmy and Golden Globe for her work on the show, is a big reason why. Hargitay takes her work home with her; after playing sex crime detective Olivia Benson for twelve years she has founded her own non-profit, The Joyful Heart Foundation to confront childhood sexual abuse.

6. Eva Longoria

Like all of the Desperate Housewives, Longoria raked in an estimated $375,000 per episode last season. When not filming on Wisteria Lane, the actress lends her famous face to L’Oreal Paris, LG Fashion Touch and most recently became the face of the new sparkling liquor NuVo. Her restaurant empire, Beso, hit a bump when Longoria and partners filed Chapter 11 in January, 2011, the same month she finalized her divorce from husband of three years, the San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker.  Although her personal life took a hit, Eva managed to squeeze out $13 million from all of her projects.  Not too shabby!

5. Mark Harmon

The ageless star of Navy procedural NCIS was voted America’s favorite TV personality in a 2011 Harris poll, beating out the likes of Oprah and Conan O’Brien. Ratings for his hit show are through the roof: on February 1, 2011, 22.85 million people tuned in, according to The Nielsen Company. The next day CBS picked up the drama for a ninth season. Harmon’s salary per episode is among the highest in Hollywood (let’s just say he earned $13 million in just one year) and he earns residuals when NCIS reruns on channels like USA and ION.

4. Tina Fey

The 30 Rock star released her much anticipated memoir, Bossypants, in April, 2011 and in less than a month sold more than 150,000 hardcover copes. What 30 Rock, lacks in prime-time viewers (the series averaged 6 million weekly viewers last season) it makes up for in critical acclaim and a revolving door of A-list guest stars including Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld and Rachael Ray. Fey has picked up awards for her work as the series’ creator and star and earned a whopping $13 million between May 2010 and May 2011.

3. Steve Carell

This is Carell’s last year on our list in the TV category. With his stint on The Office ending, he now needs to prove himself as a movie star. To make the big bucks he?  He’ll have to have more hits like Date Night and fewer flops like Dinner for Schmucks which earned only $86 million on a budget of $70 million. Carell hasn’t completely abandoned TV, though. He’s developing a comedy series based on his brief experience as a mailman and last year, made $15 million, with help from his memorable performance on The Office.

2. Ray Ramano

Romano’s job description on critical darling Men of a Certain Age includes star, producer and writer. But it’s his back-end payday from Everybody Loves Raymond, now in syndication, that makes up the bulk of his fortune (pulling in $20 million in 1 year.)  He also takes home residuals from the hit animated movie series Ice Age. He’s set to voice a fourth installment, out in theaters in 2012.

1. Charlie Sheen

Sheen’s recent meltdown hasn’t hurt his bank account much. In fact, thanks to Two and a Half Men contract renegotiations, he made more this year ($40) than last with fewer shows. His lucky streak may be over though. While he cashed in on merchandise bearing his name, his live stage show earned boos from audiences and Ashton Kutcher has replaced Sheen on Two and a Half Men.