Earlier this week, Variety released a list of the highest-paid actors on television. It was cool to think about, and fun to [emoji with wagging tongue that looks like dollar sign] about, and — wait: Antarctica starring Jennifer Jason Leigh? Are we sure they’re not just making up fake Netflix shows at this point? But most of all: It was a list that laid the groundwork for some fascinating hypotheticals.

Consider: We now know that, for the cost of having Kevin Spacey ($500,000 per episode of House of Cards) on your show, you could have Emma Stone ($350,000 per episode of the forthcoming Maniac) and Mindy Kaling ($140,000 per episode of The Mindy Project). We know that, for the cost of having Lauren Graham ($750,000/episode for Gilmore Girls) on your show, you could have the Rock ($400,000/episode for Ballers) and Drew Barrymore ($350,000/episode for Netflix’s upcoming Santa Clarita Diet). And we know that, for the cost of having Johnny Galecki ($1 million/episode for The Big Bang Theory) on your show, you could have [deep breath] Viola Davis ($250,000/episode for How to Get Away With Murder), Billy Bob Thornton ($250,000/episode for Goliath), Sofia Vergara ($250,000/episode for Modern Family), and Clive Owen ($250,000/episode for The Knick). If you were casting — and allocating a budget — for your own TV project, would you make those deals?

Even if you would, of course, it’s not that simple. This being Peak TV, there is a lot of other stuff to consider. Where and when would your series take place? Would you use pre-existing IP as your jump-off, or do you have your own billion-dollar idea? Are you willing to shell out for a big-name director? For an iconic soundtrack? DO. YOU WANT. SOME MOTHERFUCKING. DRAGONS? It’s your answers to those questions, and more, that will determine whether your show sinks or swims.

And now it’s time to put your (fake) money where your mouth is. Here’s the game: Can you build a hit TV show? And here’s the catch: There’s a budget.

$250, to be exact. That’s the budget for your entire show. We took Variety’s list and hacked off a handful of zeroes — now, it’ll cost you $100 to cast the likes of, uh, Johnny Galecki, and $6 ($6!) for Gina Rodriguez. There are only three rules:

Each show needs at least three actors, and at least one setting and time period. Feel free to add more, but it will cost you. (If you want multiple locations, you’ve got to pay for both.) If you want to add any special features (dinosaurs, giant battles, a fancy director, etc.), those will cost you as well. The sum total of your show can’t exceed $250.

Our staff took a stab at building a few shows to get the ball rolling. Hit us up in the comments with a show of your own — and we’ll do a post later this week highlighting some of our favorite reader submissions. — Sam Donsky

Talent

Jim Parsons ($100)

Kaley Cuoco ($100)

Johnny Galecki ($100)

Lauren Graham ($75)

Alexis Bledel ($75)

Mark Harmon ($52.50)

Kevin Spacey ($50)

Peter Dinklage ($50)

Lena Headey ($50)

Kit Harington ($50)

Emilia Clarke ($50)

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ($50)

Claire Danes ($45)

Mariska Hargitay ($45)

Dwayne Johnson ($40)

Ellen Pompeo ($40)

Joel Kinnaman ($35)

Drew Barrymore ($35)

Emma Stone ($35)

Jonah Hill ($35)

Reese Witherspoon ($35)

Nicole Kidman ($35)

Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson) ($31.50)

Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson) ($31.50)

Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson) ($31.50)

Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson) ($31.50)

Kiefer Sutherland ($30)

Michael Weatherly ($30)

Jeffrey Tambor ($27.50)

Naomi Watts ($27.50)

Sarah Jessica Parker ($27.50)

Hugh Laurie ($27.50)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus ($25)

Tim Allen ($25)

Patricia Heaton ($25)

Julie Bowen ($25)

Ty Burrell ($25)

Jesse Tyler Ferguson ($25)

Eric Stonestreet ($25)

Sofia Vergara ($25)

Daniel Craig ($25)

Clive Owen ($25)

Viola Davis ($25)

James Spader ($25)

Billy Bob Thornton ($25)

Kerry Washington ($25)

Ted Danson ($22.50)

Aaron Paul ($22.50)

Kevin James ($20)

Matt LeBlanc ($20)

Tom Selleck ($20)

Angie Harmon ($18.50)

Wentworth Miller ($17.50)

Dominic Purcell ($17.50)

Sarah Wayne Callies ($17.50)

Michelle Monaghan ($17.50)

Evan Rachel Wood ($17.50)

Thandie Newton ($17.50)

Jeffrey Wright ($17.50)

James Marsden ($17.50)

Ingrid Bolso Berdal ($17.50)

Luke Hemsworth ($17.50)

Sidse Babett Knudsen ($17.50)

Simon Quarterman ($17.50)

Rodrigo Santoro ($17.50)

Angela Sarafyan ($17.50)

Shannon Woodward ($17.50)

Ed Harris ($17.50)

Anthony Hopkins ($17.50)

Taraji P. Henson ($17.50)

Terrence Howard ($17.50)

Keri Russell ($17.50)

Jensen Ackles ($17.50)

Rob Lowe ($17.50)

Mandy Patinkin ($15)

Mindy Kaling ($14)

Zooey Deschanel ($13)

Scott Bakula ($13)

Téa Leoni ($13)

Kristen Bell ($12.50)

America Ferrera ($12.50)

Jennifer Jason Leigh ($12.50)

Amy Landecker ($10)

Jay Duplass ($10)

Gaby Hoffmann ($10)

Judith Light ($10)

Anthony Anderson ($10)

Andre Braugher ($10)

Geena Davis ($10)

Kyle Chandler ($10)

Sam Heughan ($10)

Caitriona Balfe ($10)

Michael Sheen ($10)

Lizzy Caplan ($10)

Jeff Garlin ($9)

Tracee Ellis Ross ($8)

Abigail Spencer ($7.50)

Gina Rodriguez ($6)

Bryshere Y. Gray ($2)

Jussie Smollett ($2)

Trai Byers ($2)

Time Period

Future ($100)

Near (Less than 25 years) future ($50)

Present day ($5)

1990s ($15)

1980s ($20)

1970s ($30)

1960s ($40)

1900s–1950s ($50)

1800s ($55)

1700s ($65)

0–1699 ($75)

Human history BCE ($85)

Ice Age ($90)

Prehistoric ($95)

Setting

New York ($65)

Los Angeles ($55)

Chicago ($45)

Other North American city ($25)

North American noncity location ($35)

Africa/Australia/Asia/Europe/South America ($60)

Island ($70)

The sea (above water) ($75)

The sea (underwater) ($100)

Outer space ($100)

Inner earth ($65)

Afterlife ($40)

Castle ($35)

Bar or restaurant ($50)

Prison ($45)

Hospital ($35)

Office ($30)

School ($25)

Empty room ($10)

Add “apocalyptic” to any setting ($70)

Special Effects

Dinosaurs ($100)

Aliens ($75)

Fast zombies ($65)

Slow zombies ($60)

Robots ($55)

Ghosts ($45)

Vampires ($35)

Other monsters ($25)

Fictional animals (e.g., dragons) ($50)

Nonfictional wild animals ($40)

Nonfictional domestic animals ($30)

Large-scale battle scenes ($75)

Flying ($25)

Pre-existing Intellectual Property

Marvel ($100)

Star Wars universe ($100)

Batman ($95)

Other DC ($55)

Harry Potter universe ($75)

Star Trek universe ($55)

Game of Thrones universe ($65)

Pixar ($70)

Non-Pixar animated universe ($50)

Sherlock Holmes ($0 + automatically disqualified)

Other movie IP ($50)

Other TV IP ($50)

Other book/comic IP ($50)

IP miscellany (toys, board games, magazine articles, etc.) ($50)

Miscellaneous

Off-the-board actor (e.g., Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, etc.) ($150)

Name director ($80)

Name director (pilot-only) ($5)

Name writer ($60)

Live musical performances ($20)

Professional sports league licensing ($30)

Soundtrack/music licensing (75 million units sold club) ($75 per artist catalogue)

Soundtrack/music licensing (other) ($35 per artist catalogue)

Based on a true story ($19)

Title with pun in it ($7 per pun)

Star plays themselves ($14)

Stand-up comedy cold open ($3)

Is your show about the mob? You’re paying protection ($25)

No one in cast will ever ask to direct episodes ($4)

“Gritty” ($12)

Character receives the newspaper a day early ($6)

‘All the Right Moves’

Bill Simmons: There’s a Friday Night Lights void, so I’m bringing the 1983 classic All the Right Moves to TV. Guess who’s joining me? Tom Cruise! He never escaped coal-mining Pennsylvania after a failed engineering career led to the tragic collapse of a local coal mine. … Now he’s living with his wife, Lizzy Caplan. Guess what? Disgraced engineer Tom has to take over the high school football team — but the star QB’s (Jussie Smollett) father died in the coal mine collapse. They’ve gotta work this shit out. Peter Berg directs the pilot. Written by Bill Simmons (I’m waiving my fee).

Actors:

Tom Cruise ($150)

Lizzy Caplan ($10)

Jussie Smollett ($2)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Small-town Pennsylvania ($25)

Miscellany:

Pilot directed by Peter Berg ($5)

Other movie IP ($50)

Total: $247

‘The Circus’

Kate Knibbs: The Circus is a topical thriller about investigators racing to solve a rash of creepy clown-related disappearances in the American heartland. It’s like True Detective meets It … but GOOD.

Actors:

Lead detectives: Gina Rodriguez ($6) and Kyle Chandler ($10)

Lead evil clown: Billy Bob Thornton ($25)

Family of child that gets kidnapped by clown: Tracee Ellis Ross ($8) and Andre Braugher ($10)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

North American noncity location — a fictional town in North Carolina ($35)

Miscellany:

Other monsters — clowns ($25)

Based on a true story ($19)

“Gritty” ($12)

Total: $155

‘Sad Men’

Shea Serrano: Here’s my TV show: Sad Men. It’s just like Mad Men, except this time they’re sad. It’s directed by Jon Hamm, except he’s directing it in character as Don Draper.

“My plan is to just film them standing there for like 48 minutes each week. Every once in awhile, Clive Owen, who is playing Don Draper II, will wrinkle his forehead. That’s the plot of Season 1: DDII wrinkles his forehead.” — Jon Hamm

“A marvelous show! So moody; so intriguing! Did you notice Clive’s forehead??? It was wrinkled! Wow, what nuance!” — A bunch of dorks

Actors:

Aaron Paul ($22.50)

Clive Owen ($25)

Ed Harris ($17.50)

Time period:

1960s ($40)

Setting:

New York ($65)

Miscellany:

Name director ($80)

Total: $250

‘The Devil Wears Rachel Comey’

Amanda Dobbins: Good news: Meryl Streep’s character died in a tragic accident just before the beginning of our story, which means that we do not have to pay for her. The Devil Wears Rachel Comey begins with her funeral scene, which will be very tasteful and feature a lot of black fascinators with netting, and will then follow the search for the next editor-in-chief of Runway. (That’s what they call fake Vogue.) Our candidates: the executive editor and natural heir (Reese Witherspoon, $35); her spacey-but-brilliant creative director (Drew Barrymore, $35); the editor-in-chief of rival publication Fille, which has lower circulation, but a better digital presence (Viola Davis, $25); a world-renown street-style blogger (Tracee Ellis Ross, $8); and a bored, rich socialite (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, $25). They wear Rachel Comey because it’s cheaper than Gucci and I have only two bucks left.

Actors:

Drew Barrymore ($35)

Reese Witherspoon ($35)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus ($25)

Viola Davis ($25)

Tracee Ellis Ross ($8)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

New York ($65)

Miscellany:

Other movie IP ($50)

Total: $248

‘Hanging Out’

Sam Donsky: Rooney Mara, Mindy Kaling, and Tracee Ellis Ross star in Hanging Out, a light drama about hanging out. Claire Denis is in to direct the pilot, and each episode will begin with a stand-up comedy cold open (Mara). They have a pet flying dog.

Actors:

Rooney Mara ($150)

Mindy Kaling ($14)

Tracee Ellis Ross ($8)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Empty room ($10)

Special effects:

Nonfictional domestic animal ($30)

Flying ($25)

Miscellany:

Name director (pilot) ($5)

Stand-up comedy cold open ($3)

Total: $250

‘Kimye v. Taylor: American Snapchat Story’

Alison Herman: It’s an Affair–meets–People v. O.J. style 10-episode true-crime investigation into the making, release, and impact of noted Kanye West song and best-forgotten Kanye West music video “Famous,” tracking the alternate narratives each side has laid out and/or would like to be excluded from in an attempt to determine [Oprah voice] what is the truth. (Spoiler: It’s Kimye’s version.) Blatant market inefficiencies — Gina Rodriguez as Kim Kardashian is CRIMINALLY cheap — keep the cast cost low, allowing for a major soundtrack splurge. Your move, Sarandos.

Actors:

Kristen Bell ($12.50)

Gina Rodriguez ($6)

Trai Byers ($2)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Los Angeles ($55)

Miscellany:

All Kanye-Taylor soundtrack ($150)

Total: $230.50

‘Cheers’

Chris Ryan: Rebooting the classic sitcom, Ted Danson is back as Sam Malone, taking on the Coach/paterfamilias role. Turns out the lights never really went off, and Sam Malone has been minding the taps at Cheers since 1993. A lot has changed in the the 24 years since: The bar is now run by retired Pats linebacker Stone Jackson (the Rock). Everything is going great until a private hedge fund buys the bar and assigns Lena McIlroy (Michelle Monaghan) to cut costs and increase profits.

Actors:

The Rock ($40)

Ted Danson ($22.50)

Michelle Monaghan ($17.50)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Bar ($50)

Miscellany:

Pilot directed by James Burrows ($5)

Other TV IP ($50)

Total: $190

‘Super High School’

Molly McHugh: The show is Super High School, an Office/mockumentary–style comedy about a group of friends who dropped/failed out of high school because they were stoners and find themselves back to complete it for different reasons (employer is about to find out that GED is fake, family shame, boredom) — BUT WAIT — they’ve all changed and relationship turmoil (and varying degrees of drug abuse) ensues.

Actors:

Emma Stone ($35)

Jonah Hill ($35)

Gina Rodriguez ($6)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

School ($25)

Miscellany:

Title with a pun in it ($7)

Directed by Greg Daniels ($80)

Total: $193

‘Magnum, IP’

Rob Harvilla: A Magnum, P.I. reboot wherein Thomas Magnum consistently foils crazed billionaire Hollywood financier Jay Duplass’s dastardly attempts to exploit the intellectual-property rights for various TV, movie, and comic franchises through kidnapping, blackmail, car chases, etc. It’s L.A., but Magnum still wears Hawaiian shirts; America Ferrera is his lovelorn, mustache-fetishizing partner in crime-fighting. Soundtrack’s all Steely Dan, no reason. The fact that I’ve never seen an episode of Magnum, P.I. is working in my favor, generally; Shane Black’s doing the pilot because The Nice Guys was pretty good. Every episode ends with Hugh Laurie personally apologizing for The Night Manager.

Actors:

Hugh Laurie ($27.50)

Tom Selleck ($20)

America Ferrera ($12.50)

Jay Duplass ($10)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Los Angeles ($55)

Miscellany:

Magnum, P.I. TV IP ($50)

Soundtrack/music licensing — Steely Dan (other) ($35)

Title with pun in it (charging double because it really sucks) ($14)

Star plays himself ($14)

Shane Black, name director (pilot-only) ($5)

Total: $248

‘Friday Night Lights 2: The Bastard Bowl’

Mallory Rubin: Have you missed Dillon? Coach Taylor did, too, and that’s why he turned his sweet, sad eyes south and drove back to Texas. Waiting for him between the lines: a bastard boy who throws a spiral as tight as the curls on his head. Waiting for him in the principal’s office: a temptress with silky skin and a silkier voice who’s hell-bent on making him forget the wife he left back in the Keystone State — and fight for funding to boot. As for the monsters: Have you been to high school, friend?

Talent:

Kyle Chandler ($10)

Kit Harington ($50)

Caitriona Balfe ($10)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

North American noncity location ($35)

School ($25)

Special effects:

Other monsters ($25)

Pre-existing IP:

Other TV IP ($50)

Total: $210

‘Before the Singularity’

Ryan O’Hanlon: In this techno-futurist extension of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, a thrice-divorced pediatrician (played by Thandie Newton) becomes infatuated with her pet drone (played by Anthony Hopkins and voiced by Andre Braugher). Over the six-episode miniseries, the doctor and the drone float through the streets of San Francisco and have a succession of one-sided conversations that inevitably come back to the pivotal question of our time: Of course you can fall in love with a flying robot, but will it ever love you back?

The Actors

Anthony Hopkins ($17.50)

Thandie Newton ($17.50)

Andre Braugher ($10)

Time Period

Near future ($50)

Setting

San Francisco ($25)

Miscellany

Flying ($25)

Before movie trilogy IP ($50)

Robots ($55)

Total: $250

‘Endowment’

Katie Baker: Ed Harris plays Jefferson Wells, the headmaster of Greenleaf Academy, an elite boarding school in rural New Hampshire where his son JJ (Aaron Paul) is a brand-new history teacher and his daughter Francie (Evan Rachel Wood) is a bored senior. His oldest daughter, Anna (Kristen Bell), once a hotshot rising Wall Street executive, was lured back to New Hampshire to work with the revered, reclusive financier Wolf Watson (Scott Bakula), a Greenleaf graduate and major donor who lives nearby.

As a worldwide financial crisis begins to unfold, no one — from the school’s students and faculty, to the local townies and second home owners — is left fully whole. With a period-appropriate soundtrack from the National and the dark humor of script adviser Paul Murray, author of The Mark and the Void and Skippy Dies, Endowment will take you inside dorms, gondolas, faculty lounges, and coffers to show you the dollar’s true value.

Actors:

Aaron Paul ($22.50)

Evan Rachel Wood ($17.50)

Ed Harris ($17.50)

Scott Bakula ($13)

Kristen Bell ($12.50)

Time period:

(Not quite) present day ($5)

Setting:

A boarding school ($25) in a small hamlet in New Hampshire ($35)

Miscellany

Soundtrack by The National ($35)

Script adviser Paul Murray ($60)

Total: $243

‘Firm’

Carl Brooks Jr.: Three extremely talented and charismatic graduates of Harvard Law School, played by Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson, and Viola Davis, start a law firm together in Boston after failing to make it at their previous firms. They start out trying to collect clients and pay bills, but end up becoming a big law firm by doing real stuff, like fighting police violence, lobbying against gentrification, and hosting the Obama family as Barack and Michelle return to their alma mater. Jussie Smollett serves as a loyal assistant and comic relief (I wasn’t available for the role). This is basically Shondaland’s epic creation and is sure to change you. You’re welcome.

Actors:

Kerry Washington ($25)

Taraji P. Henson ($17.50)

Viola Davis ($25)

Jussie Smollett ($2)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Other North American city (Boston, obvi.) ($25)

Miscellany:

Shonda Rhimes as the writer–director ($140)

Total: $239.50

‘Content With What You Have’

Victor Luckerson: As part of a massive video push, a giant tech corporation (let’s call it … Facebrochure) starts buying up local television stations in order to stream its news broadcasts online. Longtime community news anchors Jeffrey Tambor and Tracee Ellis Ross are none too pleased when patronizing millennial Jonah Hill (he has an Apple Watch AND Warby Parker glasses) is hired as the new news director, and given the primary job of “maximizing virality” and making the station into an online media powerhouse. Cue a bafflingly popular Facebrochure livestream of the pigeons that nest atop the station’s satellite and a #duraghistoryweek segment gone horribly awry. The ensemble also includes an aging meteorologist with a coke habit (Billy Bob Thornton) and the only lead female sportscaster in the state (Lizzy Caplan).

Actors:

Jonah Hill ($35)

Jeffrey Tambor ($27.50)

Tracee Ellis Ross ($8)

Billy Bob Thornton ($25)

Lizzy Caplan ($10)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Oklahoma City ($25)

Office ($30)

Miscellany:

Title with pun in it ($7)

Total: $172.50

‘A Strong Cup of Tea’

Allison P. Davis: The show is about a successful woman (Gaby Hoffman) who decides to take a spiritual Ayahuasca pilgrimage with her girlfriends after a particularly bad scandal. During her (drug) trip, her visions tell her she needs to start first the Ayahuasca church in America in Ojai, California. The show follows her as she recruits people (Tracee Ellis Ross, Jay Duplass) and administers tea. Viola Davis guest stars as a famous self-help guru trying to take the church down. We get their backstories in High Maintenance–style episodes, but it’s sort of madcap and absurdist like … a smarter The Good Place.

Actors:

Viola Davis ($25)

Jay Duplass ($10)

Gaby Hoffman ($10)

Tracee Ellis Ross ($8)

Time period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

North American noncity location (Ojai, California) ($35)

South America ($60)

Empty room ($10 — where else are they gonna puke it out)

Miscellany:

I would like Oprah to direct the pilot ($5)

Tame Impala soundtrack ($35)

Total: $203

‘Spy Vs. Spy (Vs. Spy)’

Sam Schube: In Spy Vs. Spy (Vs. Spy), Jim Band (Daniel Craig) and Jam Bong (Clive Owen) partner as the two finest, uh, spies in London. Until, that is, Jeem Bund (Jonah Hill), the large adult son of the American ambassador to England, takes an internship at MI6 and throws everything into chaos.

Actors:

Jonah Hill ($35)

Daniel Craig ($25)

Clive Owen ($25)

Time period:

1990s ($15)

Setting:

Europe ($60)

Miscellany:

Soundtrack by Moby ($35)

Pilot directed by Tony Gilroy ($5)

“Gritty” ($12)

Total: $212

‘The Walking Red’

Jason Concepcion: Scientists searching for a solution for declining populations of redheads inadvertently create a virus that kills everyone but gingers. From the mind of acclaimed writer Tana French, The Walking Red stars Emma Stone as Emma Stone. On a plane to Toronto for a shoot when the virus breaks out, Stone and mysterious stranger Patrick O’Flynn (Sam Heughan) must find a way to land their now pilotless aircraft. But does Patrick know more than he’s letting on? Meanwhile, in a top-secret underground facility, the brilliant geneticist Bridget McConnell (Michelle Monaghan) is racing to find a cure before it’s too late.

Actors:

Emma Stone playing Emma Stone ($35 + $14)

Michelle Monaghan ($17.50)

Sam Heughan ($10)

Time period:

Present-day, “apocalyptic” ($75)

Setting:

Other North American City ($25)

Miscellany:

Pilot directed by Joss Whedon ($5)

Written by Tana French ($60)

Total: $241.50

‘How It Shoot If It’s Plastic’

Micah Peters: Really dumb action series where everything blows up. Like a live-action adaptation of Samurai Jack with laser guns and without samurais and no one is named Jack. Anthony Hopkins, a cartoonish villain that quotes Goethe and Shakespeare a lot, sends the Rock into the future where his rule is law. The Rock uses all the tools at his disposal (3-D-printed plasma cannons, his biceps) to deliver Metro City from the thrall of Hopkins. I will accept my seed money in gold coins separated into several large burlap sacks with dollar signs painted on them.

Actors

The Rock ($40)

Anthony Hopkins ($17.50)

Time period:

24.99 years in the future ($50)

Setting:

Chicago ($45)

Miscellany:

Robots ($55)

Music exclusively by DJ Rashad ($35)

Total: $242.50

‘Rocko’s Modern Life’

Claire McNear: A live-action reboot of Rocko’s Modern Life (with animated Spunky), starring Luke Hemsworth as Rocko, for a bargain $192.50. The Rock plays Heffer.

Actors:

The Rock ($40)

Luke Hemsworth ($17.50)

Eric Stonestreet ($25)

Time Period:

Present day ($5)

Setting:

Other North American city ($25)

Miscellany:

Other TV IP ($50)

Nonfictional domestic animals ($30)

Total: $192.50