For the stars of Selling Sunset, airtime is everything.
In a discussion about how reality stars are paid, Emma Hernan revealed that she and her costars are paid per episode they appear in—and not per episode they film.
“For our show, we get paid per episode,” she told VivianTu, aka “Your Rich BFF,” on the April 29 episode of the Richer Lives by SoFi podcast. “If you make the episode, you get paid. If they cut you out of the episode, you don’t get paid.”
And that means there’s some risks involved for the cast, according to Emma, who said getting started on the show “was so expensive.”
“You have to pay for glam, styling and everything yourself,” she explained. “Honestly, when I first joined the show, I was in the negative.”
Emma emphasized that the show prioritizes physical appearance, saying she had to put in the effort in order to reap the rewards.
“Let’s be honest, fashion is big on Selling Sunset, so you have to look nice,” she said. “You’re creating a brand.”
She continued of her mindset, “I am putting my personal life out there, I need to make this worth it.”
For Emma, putting her personal life in the public eye has come with its fair share of challenges. Last fall, her Selling Sunset costar Nicole Young spread the rumor that Emma had likely had relations with a married man during a confessional. However, Emma clapped back by saying there was “zero truth” to the rumors.
“Oh, this evil human,” Emma exclusively told E! News in an interview in September 2024. “I was completely blindsided by all of this. I had no idea that this was going on the entire season. I did not find this out till right before, when we got the screeners. It’s disgusting.”
Emma’s fellow cast member Chrishell Stause showed her support for her friend, telling E! News‘ Keltie Knight, “Nicole was able to make a rumor about my best friend that I know is not true. She’s going to be able to prove that it isn’t true, but she wasn’t given the chance on the show to prove as much.”
For more insight into TV stars’ salaries, read on.
32. Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
$500,000 ($50,000 per episode)
31. Sharon Osbourne (The Talk)
$1 million per year
30. Keri Russell (The Americans)
$1.3 million per year (100,000 per episode)
29. Lea Michele, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison (Glee)
$1.6 million per year ($80,000 per episode)
28. Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
$1.9 million ($150,000 per episode
27. Kerry Washington (Scandal)
$2 million per year ($80,000 per episode)
26. Andy Cohen (Watch What Happens Live)
$2 million per year
25. James Spader (The Blacklist)
$2.75 million per year ($125,000 per episode)
24. Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood)
$2.75 million per year ($275,000 per episode)
23. Claire Danes (Homeland)
$3 million per year ($250,000 per episode)
22. Zooey Deschanel (New Girl)
$3 million per year ($125,000 per episode)
21. Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
$3.5 million per year ($275,000 per episode)
20. Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
$4.4 million per year ($200,000 per episode)
19. Keith Urban (American Idol)
$5 million per year
18. The Cast of How I Met Your Mother
$5 million per year ($225,000 per episode)
17. Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet, Sofía Vergara & Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
$4.2 million per year ($175,000 per episode)
16. Ed O’Neill (Modern Family)
$4.8 million per year (200,000 per episode)
16. Patricia Heaton (The Middle)
$4.2 million per year ($235,000 per episode)
16. Tim Allen (Last Man Standing)
$4.2 million per year ($235,000 per episode)
15. David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel (Bones)
$5.5 million per year ($250,000 per episode)
15. Michael Weatherly (NCIS)
$5.5 million per year ($250,000 per episode)
14. Rachel Maddow (MSNBC)
$7 million per year
13. Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh & Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy)
$7.7 million per year ($350,000 per episode)
12. Blake Shelton (The Voice)
$8 million ($4 million per cycle)
11. Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU)
$8.8 million per year (400,000 per episode)
10. Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live)
$10 million per year
9. Mark Harmon (NCIS)
$11.5 million per year ($525,000 per episode)
8. Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)
$14.3 million per year ($650,000 per episode)
7. Howard Stern (America’s Got Talent)
$15 million per year
6. Ashton Kutcher (Two and a Half Men)
$16.5 million per year ($750,000 per episode)
