The Rings of Power, The Boys, and Fallout: The 10 most expensive Amazon Prime Video series ever made
Amazon’s Prime Video first launched in 2011—four years after Netflix sparked the streaming revolution. It has since become a major player in the industry. The e-commerce giant has produced some of the most expensive television series in history, spanning a wide range of genres, including fantasy, spy thrillers, and reality TV. Many of these shows come with a staggering production cost of more than $8 million per episode.
Here are Prime Video’s top 10 most expensive shows of all time.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan — $8 to $10 million per episode
Amazon’s adaptation of the popular spy thriller novels by Tom Clancy cost between $8 to $10 million per episode to produce. The show starred John Krasinski and premiered in 2018 before ending in 2023.
Sneaky Pete — $9.3 million per episode
Amazon invested about $9.3 million per episode to produce the first season of Sneaky Pete, a crime dramedy co-created by Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston. The show debuted in 2015 and ended in 2019.
Goliath — $10 million per episode
Goliath, the legal drama starring Billy Bob Thornton, cost the commerce giant about $10 million per episode. The show ran for four season from 2016 to 2021.
The Wheel of Time — $10 million per episode
Amazon’s adaptation of the popular spy thriller novels by Tom Clancy cost between $10 million per episode to produce. The show starred John Krasinski and premiered in 2018 before ending in 2023.
The Man in the High Castle — $11 million per episode
Amazon spent about $11 million per episode on The Man in the High Castle, a drama depicting a parallel universe where the Axis powers won WWII. The show ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2019.
The Boys — $11.2 million per episode
Amazon’s popular adaption of a comic book series spoofing superheroes reportedly costs about $11.2 million per episode to produce. The show’s fourth season came out this year.
Crisis in Six Scenes — $13 million per episode
Woody Allen’s six-episode miniseries from 2016, Crisis in Six Scenes, reportedly cost Amazon $80 million, or a little over $13 million per episode to produce.
Fallout — $19.5 million per episode
Amazon’s adaption of the popular post-apocalyptic video game franchise is one of its most expensive TV shows. The e-commerce giant spent $153 million on the eight-episode first season, which premiered this year. That translates to about $19.5 million per episode.
Citadel — $50 million per episode
Amazon spent a whopping $300 million on the first season of its spy action show Citadel. The first season premiered in 2023 and was only six episodes, meaning each one cost about $50 million to produce.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — $58 million per episode
Amazon’s most expensive television series is its spinoff of the classic fantasy “Lord of the Rings” books from J.R.R. Tolkien. The first eight-episode season of the show had a budget of $465 million, or $58 million per episode.