"Game of Thrones" has been a phenomenal hit the past few years, with season 5 due to premiere in April. The main cast is also secured for at least two more seasons after that as the network sees a potential seventh season in the horizon.
The principal actors were only originally signed for six seasons, but considering that the novels on which the show was based has not even finished yet, it is more likely that the show will extend into the extra season, and negotiations have already taken place.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO has given the cast of the hit series huge pay raises, making them among the highest paid actors on cable television. However, due to the diversity of the "Game of Thrones" production, raises were split into three tiers.
On the "A" tier and the highest pay bump include Kit Harrington (Jon Snow), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister).
The "B" tier also has significant raises, but considerably less than that of the "A" tier. Among the cast members in the group are Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) among others.
Finally, the rest of the cast gets the "C" tier, with smaller pay increases, but a bump is a bump, right?
Vanity Fair reported that the network refused to disclose the exact amount, but "A" tier cast member Peter Dinklage has already been making $160,000 per episode before renegotiations took place.
The same article also pointed out that it is surprising that Maisie Williams, who happened to be a fan favorite and lead character is only set on the "B" tier, but being 17 may have played a part in knocking her a grade down.
Season 5 has already started filming and will air on April 2015. The sixth season will most likely follow the year after that, in 2016. But despite being the most-watched show in any network, co-creator DB Weiss has told Vanity Fair a couple of months ago that they're looking to wrap up the series by season seven or eight. He explained, "We know there's an end somewhere in the seven- or eight-season zone. It's not something that goes 10, 11-it doesn't just keep on going because it can.
He later added, "I think the desire to milk more out of it is what would eventually kill it, if we gave in to that."
Despite the cast members earning six digits per episode, they are hardly among the highest paid actors. E! Online noted that the "Big Bang Theory" cast, Charlie Sheen, and "Glee" cast have competitive paychecks as well.