--- description: Those battles, CGI dragons and exotic locations add up title: You'll Never Guess How Much It Costs to Make an Episode of 'Game of Thrones' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d3a320921a9647f/69888d29e20a87ad09a90322/9e0a579c30e7ca0b2e786b88dc6b4e9e1d993dee33fde03683363537e354f8c6535c417722d84979de3ea66f8f06384c.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # You'll Never Guess How Much It Costs to Make an Episode of _Game of Thrones_  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 31, 2016 3:18 PM CUT  Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke in Game of ThronesHBO  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 31, 2016 3:18 PM CUT [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/4251540/game-of-thrones-season-6-trailer-analysis-breakdown/ "undefined") is one of the most expensive shows ever made on TV. And as the seasons go on—and those CGI baby dragons grow into fire-breathing, army-smiting pets—the price tag for each episode just keeps going up. For season six, HBO forked over an average of $10 million per episode, according to a [recent story](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/24/game-thrones-ew-cover "undefined") in _Entertainment Weekly_. (That’s [up from a reported $6 million](http://www.eonline.com/news/318306/holy-flaming-warships-how-expensive-is-game-of-thrones-anyway "undefined") a few years ago.) There will be 10 episodes of the fantasy show this season, which means HBO spent $100 million on this year’s show. **MORE:** [We Analyzed Every Second of the New ](http://time.com/4251540/game-of-thrones-season-6-trailer-analysis-breakdown/ "undefined")[_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/4251540/game-of-thrones-season-6-trailer-analysis-breakdown/ "undefined")[ Season 6 Trailer](http://time.com/4251540/game-of-thrones-season-6-trailer-analysis-breakdown/ "undefined") A good deal of that money likely went towards what the producers are describing as the largest and [most epic battle scene](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/22/game-thrones-season-6-battle "undefined") that any TV show has ever attempted: The highly tactical confrontation will involved hundreds of human (not CGI) soldiers on the battlefield. It will rival the [“Blackwater” episode](http://entertainment.time.com/2012/05/28/game-of-thrones-watch-smoke-on-the-water-fire-in-the-sky/ "undefined") from season two, according to _EW_. Though a $10 million price tag for a TV show may sound excessive, it’s not unprecedented: The final season of _Friends_ reportedly [cost $10 million per episode](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3689029.stm "undefined") (including the [$1 million paid every episode](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/29/friends-salaries-ridiculous "undefined") to each of the six cast members), and the closest _Friends_ came to a battle scene were arguments between Ross and Rachel about whether they were on a break. _Game of Thrones_ returns April 24. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4277766/game-of-thrones-episode-cost-expensive/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4277766/game-of-thrones-episode-cost-expensive/"},"headline":"You'll Never Guess How Much It Costs to Make an Episode of Game of Thrones","datePublished":"2016-03-31T15:18:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:22:13.877Z","description":"Those battles, CGI dragons and exotic locations add up","url":"https://time.com/4277766/game-of-thrones-episode-cost-expensive/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d3a320921a9647f/69888d29e20a87ad09a90322/9e0a579c30e7ca0b2e786b88dc6b4e9e1d993dee33fde03683363537e354f8c6535c417722d84979de3ea66f8f06384c.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d3a320921a9647f/69888d29e20a87ad09a90322/9e0a579c30e7ca0b2e786b88dc6b4e9e1d993dee33fde03683363537e354f8c6535c417722d84979de3ea66f8f06384c.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"9e0a579c30e7ca0b2e786b88dc6b4e9e1d993dee33fde03683363537e354f8c6535c417722d84979de3ea66f8f06384c","caption":"Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones","creditText":"HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4277766/game-of-thrones-episode-cost-expensive/","name":"You'll Never Guess How Much It Costs to Make an Episode of Game of Thrones"}}]}] ```