The Big Bang Theory is a private show! The list of the highest-paid American TV male stars in 2018 is released

According to foreign media reports, Forbes magazine recently released the list of the highest-paid American TV actors in 2018, of which the top four are all starring actors in CBS's hit comedy "The Big Bang Theory". Jim Parsons topped the list with a total income of $26.5 million in the year ending June 1, 2018.

In second, third and fourth place were his partners in the show, Johnny "Leonard" Galecki, Simon "Howard" Helberg and Kunal "Raj" Nayyar, with $25 million and $23.5 million respectively. Sheldon earned the most because he not only starred in the movie, but also served as an executive producer for the spin-off series "Young Sheldon".

The four male stars of "The Big Bang Theory" actually did not earn as much as last year. In order to give higher salaries to the newly defined (actually long-time) "permanent cast" "Amy" Mayim Bialik and "Bernadette" Melissa Rauch, the original permanent cast voluntarily asked to reduce their salaries from $1 million per episode to $900,000 per episode. However, "The Big Bang Theory" is still the king of cash cows in American TV series, bringing in seven-figure income every year.

In fifth place is Mark Harmon, the male lead of "NCIS", who has made a lot of money from this police procedural drama also produced by CBS. The drama has been on the air since 2003. Like the regular cast of "The Big Bang Theory", Mark has also very tactfully negotiated a "pay cut" to make a steady income. The $19 million he earned last year not only includes his salary, but also a portion of the profits from the drama.

Ranking 6-9 are the four male protagonists of "Modern Family" - "Jay" Ed O'Neill, "Cameron" Eric Stonestreet, "Mitchell" Jesse Tyler Ferguson and "Phil" Ty Burrell. Since its premiere in 2009, this ABC comedy has firmly occupied its position on this list, just like "The Big Bang Theory". The four male actors earned a total of $52.5 million last year.

The newcomer is Andrew Lincoln, the male lead of The Walking Dead. Although he has played to the ninth season, which is also his last season, this year is the first time he has been on the list. When he exits at the end of this season, we can expect Norman Reedus, who is currently negotiating a salary increase, to replace Andrew on the list.

The only name missing from last year's list is Kevin Spacey, who withdrew from his role as President Shimoki in House of Cards after being accused of several sexual harassment behaviors (although he denied all the allegations). Without a new show, his income last year was not enough to make the list, so he was replaced by Andrew.

The top 10 highest-earning American TV actors earned a total of $181 million between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, down from $185 million in the same period last year. The incomes on this list are pre-tax incomes, and do not include fees from agents, agencies and lawyers. The data comes from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDb, as well as interviews with industry insiders. The list of American TV actresses will be released soon.