The Most Expensive Television Shows of All Time, Ranked

5.Orange Is the New Black – $4 Million per Episode

Orange Is the New Black, Netflix's second mega-hit series, follows several female characters in a Connecticut women's prison. Orange Is the New Black, based on Piper Kerman's memoir, proved Netflix had not simply gotten lucky with House of Cards. The Orange is the New Black series ended in 2019 to the disappointment of all its fans. It cost an impressive $4 million per episode before that, making it one of the most expensive shows in television history. Shooting in an old prison isn't cheap. According to TV writer Alison Herman, Orange's legacy transcends its cost: "Six years ago, conversations about diversity and representation weren't the lingua franca, partly because Orange wasn't around to start them."