Labor costs are also usually the first thing to be looked at for cuts in costs.

Move your production to Canada, etc.

Since Season 8, Smallville has been filmed on the Panavision Genesis. Why? Two reasons:

1) Because the amount of time the production saved in setting up shots (had they still used film) allowed for more time to be spent on rehearsing and perfecting their episodes;

2) PS3 knew the show would be moving almost-permanently to Metropolis, and after discussing it with D.P. Glen Winter, they decided the harsh cold look HD offers better matches Metropolis’ colour palette, and would allow the show to develop a new moody look to match the dark storylines.

It was not a financially motivated decision to switch the HD (Smallville rent its cameras and lenses directly from Panavision, so development/delivery costs are the same too), it was purely creative.

I work in the biz, so I’m on a couple industry-only message boards. They’re mostly just PAs yacking on to each other, but I frequently chat to a few producers, production managers and cinematographers (here and there) working on some high-profile series.

I’m one of those people that actually has the gall to bluntly ask things like “how expensive is your show?” and “what were you smoking?”, and it gets me answers, so feel free to doubt me.

Industry secret: most television shows cost exactly the same to physically shoot, i.e. cost of crew, camera, stock, lighting, studio space, etc. It’s approximately $100,000 to $150,000 a day (this cost is referred to as “below-the-line” costs).

It’s the “above-the-line” costs (i.e. how much the studio pays its key creative talent) that make NCIS expensive. Because it’s the No. 1 show on television, the actors, writers, producers, directors, cinematographers, production designers, etc. all demand to be paid more. And the studio has no choice but to say yes, because they make shitloads from the show.

So basically, in terms of production values, NCIS and a show like Smallville (which costs $2M to make per ep) should be – on paper – no different. The “below-the-line” costs are pretty much the same. It’s because CBS Television Studios pays its writers, actors and producers so much more than NCIS is $4M+.

Hope that gives you a better idea of how Hollywood works!

I assume you mean total production costs, and if so, there’s no exact way of knowing it per episode, unless the studio or network tell you. But based on budgets for similar series, it’s safe to say:

NCIS is most definitely $4M+, on-par with 24 ($5M), Lost ($4.8), CSI ($4.5M)

and that NCIS:LA is probably between $3M to $4M, on-par with Grey’s Anatomy ($4M), Bones ($3.5M) and Stargate Universe ($3M).

they’ll get more money

Seriously though, most of these sitcoms have two different audiences those who watch it in its first-run airings and those who see it in their second-run airings on syndication or DVDs and stuff like that.

I hear from people all the time that they didn’t watch Men until it came on in syndication after 2006.

Friends is one of the few comedies in history to see an increase on the first-run network after entering syndication.

The only listed airings for reruns of Mercy are on Saturdays on NBC. At this point, it will be lucky to get a second season, nevermind syndication.

” Since Christine hasn’t been seen by the masses just yet”, a very positive way of saying, “No one wanted to watch it on its initial broadcast run”.

CBS will have 2-4 years to get good repeat performances out of NCIS: LA. Probably the reason why The Mentalist isn’t on another network yet so CBS doesn’t lose those solid repeat ratings they get for it.

To be clear, unless the article has been updated yet again while I typed this comment, they can begin airing in 2011, but won’t begin daily Mon-Fri airings until 2013.

x 24 eps. = $60 million per season

Does USA hand over about $240 million now or when they start airing the episodes in 2013?