10 Most Expensive HBO Series of All Time, Ranked by Budget md20

HBO is famous for its contributions to prestige television, and the legendary series it’s created often owe their success to their massive budgets. Without the budgets they have, HBO’s fantasy series and period dramas would be laughable, rather than critically acclaimed and beloved. Throughout HBO’s entire history, these ten series are the ones to boast the highest known budgets.

Rome Had an Estimated Budget of $100 Million

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Rome ran for two seasons from 2005 to 2007. Following a large ensemble cast, the historical drama immersed audiences in the fall of the Roman Republic, and its transition into the Roman Empire. To fund its abundance of lead actors, and to make everything feel as authentic as possible, Rome required a budget of $100 million.

Rome initially shined with its complex characters and brilliant costumes and set design, although critics soured somewhat on Season 2. Audiences seemed to agree, as declining viewership led to the series not being renewed for a third season after the initial two-year contract was up. Viewership doesn’t appear to have been abysmal but, with how expensive Rome was to produce, especially for its time, it just wasn’t enough.

Vinyl Needed a Budget of $100 Million For its Single Season

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Running for only one season in 2016, Vinyl is a rare flop from modern HBO. Set in 1970s New York, the period dramedy followed a burnt-out record producer who becomes desperate to save his label after re-discovering his passion for music. Vinyl averaged a budget of $10 million per episode, making its full single-season run cost a whopping $100 million.

Vinyl benefited from the name value of having Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger listed among its creators. However, this alone wasn’t enough to drum up significant interest, and the series did little to make a case for itself. Vinyl was initially renewed by HBO for a second season, but this decision was swiftly reversed, the series being too much of an investment to be worth attempting to re-tool.

Band of Brothers Revolutionized War Dramas With its $125 Million Budget

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HBO entered the 21st Century on a massive high note with the Band of Brothers miniseries, which ran for ten episodes in 2001. Created by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg, the war drama depicts a heavily dramatized version of World War II, centered around the Easy Company of the U.S. Army. At the time it was made, Band of Brothers was the most expensive miniseries ever made, with a budget of $125 million, but this proved to be a worthwhile investment, as it quickly became a massive success.

Band of Brothers maintained consistently high viewership, and received critical acclaim from audiences and critics alike. The miniseries was praised for its masterful depiction of the horrors of war, the spectacle of its battle scenes, and consistently outstanding direction and cinematography. It’s easy to see just by watching Band of Brothers why its budget was so high, and it’s equally easy to see why HBO would green-light an even more expensive follow-up years later.

The Last of Us Has Cost $135 Million to Produce Two Seasons

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Premiering in 2023, The Last of Us is one of HBO’s current biggest hits. Based on the video game series of the same name, The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama centered around two survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Joel and Ellie, as they travel across the United States, working to survive, and meeting a colorful cast of other survivors along the way. The Last of Us currently has two seasons out and, without even taking into account the still in-production Season 3, the series has already cost $135 million to produce.

The substantial budget of The Last of Us can be attributed to several factors. These include its use of a popular licensed property, a myriad of production companies being involved with the series, one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors, Pedro Pascal, portraying Joel, and the amount of detail that went into bringing the dystopia that is the series’ world to life. Once Season 3 of The Last of Us is complete, it will come as no shock if the series’ total budget crosses the $200 million mark.

The Pacific Needed $217 Million to Try and Surpass Band of Brothers

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The Pacific premiered in 2010, and served as a spiritual successor to Band of Brothers. With a brand-new setting and cast of characters, but similar themes and goals, the war drama miniseries followed a group of U.S. Marines through the trials of the Pacific War. Just like Band of Brothers, The Pacific ran for ten episodes, but with a $217 million budget, each episode was far more expensive to produce than those of its predecessor.

While The Pacific didn’t make the same cultural splash as Band of Brothers, it was still successful. Viewership was solid, acclaim from audiences and critics was nearly universal, and it was nominated for an abundance of awards. The success of The Pacific would lead to yet another spiritual successor being created years later, Masters of the Air, although it would air on Apple TV+, not HBO.

Boardwalk Empire Spent Nearly $300 Million Across Five Seasons

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Boardwalk Empire ran for five seasons from 2010 to 2014. Set during the 1920s, the period crime drama beautifully depicted the Prohibition era of the United States, and drew audiences in with its juicy drama surrounding the politicians, mobsters, and normal people all seeking to survive and make the most of the ever-shifting status quo. Consistently an enormous success for HBO, the network no doubt felt it entirely worth giving Boardwalk Empire a $293 million budget.

Boardwalk Empire kicked off with a bang, its pilot having an $18 million budget and being directed by Martin Scorsese. Even without the presence of Scorsese in the director’s chair, the series continued to be obviously expensive through its gorgeous costume and set design, and its all-star cast of characters. Steve Buscemi brilliantly portrayed protagonist Nucky Thompson, and joining him in the cast were Michael itt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Charlie Cox, and Michael Kenneth Williams, among others.

The Sopranos Changed Television Forever With Its $300 Million Budget

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The series that single-handedly defined prestige television, The Sopranos ran for six seasons from 1999 to 2007. A crime drama centered around Tony Soprano and his New Jersey-based mob family, the series forced audiences to take it as seriously and to give it as much respect as any film with its brilliant acting, nuanced characters, mature subject matter, and exceptional direction. Being the most acclaimed series of its era, The Sopranos increasingly received larger and larger budgets throughout its run, leading to the six seasons overall having a budget in the neighborhood of $300 million.

The Sopranos is a technical masterpiece and, despite not being a fantasy series or period drama, the money behind it is always apparent. Its genius cast of actors only became increasingly expensive as the series progressed, but no one would deny that James Gandolfini, Lorraine Branco, Edith Falco, and Michael Imperioli were worth every penny. Similarly, The Sopranos’ commitment to on-location shooting contributed significantly to the ability of audiences to become immersed in the lives of its complex anti-heroes.

House of the Dragon Has Already Spent $320 Million Producing its First Two Seasons

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With Game of Thrones being the most successful HBO series of all time, it was only logical for the network to invest heavily in its prequel series, House of the Dragon. The fantasy drama premiered in 2022 and currently has two seasons out, with a third on the way. Across its two seasons, House of the Dragon has already cost HBO $320 million to produce.

Adapting the Fire & Blood novel by George R.R. Martin, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, depicting the fall of House Targaryen. Just as its predecessor did during its early years, House of the Dragon has been lauded for its incredible costume and set design, its intricate direction and cinematography, and its top-class cast of actors, with stand-outs including Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Milly Alcock, Olivia Cooke, and Steve Toussaint. Actors like these naturally don’t come cheap, and neither do the massive, realistic, CGI dragons that House of the Dragon loves showing off.

Westworld Needed $455 Million to Bring its Imaginative Vision to Life

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Westworld ran for four seasons from 2016 to 2022. Blending the Western, sci-fi, and dystopia genres together, Westworld initially centers around its eponymous location, a Wild West-themed amusement park where wealthy visitors can use the androids who staff it to fulfill their darkest fantasies. Expensive to produce from day one, and growing in scope over the course of its run, Westworld wound up costing HBO $455 million to produce.

Despite initially being a critical darling with a dedicated following of fans, Westworld failed to maintain this success. Its viewership slipped substantially from season to season, leading to its planned fifth season being canceled. This comes purely down to the writing, though, as Westworld never ceased making the most of its gargantuan budget, consistently offering fantastic performances from its actors, dazzling production value, and ample use of CGI.

Game of Thrones Became a Phenomenon Thanks to Its $630 Million Budget

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Running for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019, Game of Thrones boasts by far the highest budget of any HBO series. This is only fitting, as it’s also the most successful series to ever air on HBO. A proper cultural phenomenon up until its infamously disastrous finale, Game of Thrones absolutely earned its overall budget of $630 million.

Adapting the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones centers around the major political factions of the world of Westeros, and their struggles against each other to amass power. For its first four seasons, Game of Thrones was widely praised for virtually every aspect of its cinematic production, and while the writing quality may have begun dropping in Season 5, the series’ technical brilliance never vanished. With a masterfully rendered fantasy world, a massive cast of now-legendary actors, and battle sequences and CGI that no one would have thought capable of appearing on television, Game of Thrones is the fourth-most expensive television series of all time, only beaten out by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Crown, and Andor.