The explosion of demand for high-end TV series and the emergence of deep-pocketed new buyers such as Netflix and Amazon has been an enormous windfall for marquee talent. Just ask Robert De Niro, or David Letterman, or Katy Perry.

Stars with brand names are more in demand than ever as dozens of competing outlets search for anything that will help a show stand out from the pack. The new business models that govern streaming services have also had the effect of raising upfront payments to top talent because traditional forms of generating a profit from a hit series — through international sales and off-network syndication — are no longer an option.

Among the winners in the past year on the drama side were Robert De Niro, who is in line to receive an eye-popping $775,00 per episode for the untitled Amazon drama series from director David O. Russell. Other big gainers include “Shameless” stars Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy and the “Ozark” duo of Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.

On the flip side, lesser-known actors such as Justin Hartley and Chrissy Metz started out with modest (by comparison) episodic fees for the first season of “This Is Us,” although they are surely poised to add more zeroes in the future. Claire Foy has been collecting awards and praise for her work as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s “The Crown,” but her Season 1 episodic fee reflects the markedly lower pay scales for British productions.

Here’s a sampling of estimates for the paychecks banked by some of TV’s most notable stars. In some cases, the per episode fees reflect additional compensation for their work as producers or for their profit participation stakes.

DRAMA ACTOR SHOW/NETWORK Per-Episode Estimate Robert De Niro Untitled David O. Russell project/Amazon $775,000 Mark Harmon NCIS/CBS $525,000 Emilia Clarke Game of Thrones/HBO $500,000 Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Game of Thrones/HBO $500,000 Peter Dinklage Game of Thrones/HBO $500,000 Kit Harington Game of Thrones/HBO $500,000 Lena Headey Game of Thrones/HBO $500,000 Kevin Costner Yellowstone/Paramount $500,000 Kevin Spacey House of Cards/Netflix $500,000 Claire Danes Homeland/Showtime $450,000 Ellen Pompeo Grey’s Anatomy/ABC $450,000 William H. Macy Shameless/Showtime $350,000 Emmy Rossum Shameless/Showtime $350,000 Billy Bob Thornton Goliath/Amazon $350,000 Jason Bateman Ozark/Netflix $300,000 Laura Linney Ozark/Netflix $300,000 Anthony Hopkins Westworld/HBO $300,000 Kiefer Sutherland Designated Survivor/ABC $300,000 James Spader The Blacklist/NBC $300,000 Kerry Washington Scandal/ABC $250,000 Elisabeth Moss The Handmaid’s Tale/Hulu $200,000 Jeffrey Donovan Shut Eye/Hulu $175,000 Michael Weatherly Bull/CBS $175,000 Bob Odenkirk Better Call Saul/AMC $150,000 Caitriona Balfe Outlander/Starz $100,000 Jonathan Banks Better Call Saul/AMC $100,000 Sam Heughan Outlander/Starz $100,000 Mandy Moore This Is Us/NBC $85,000 Milo Ventimiglia This Is Us/NBC $85,000 Sterling K. Brown This Is Us/NBC $75,000 Claire Foy The Crown/Netflix $40,000 Justin Hartley This Is Us/NBC $40,000 Chrissy Metz This Is Us/NBC $40,000 Note: Some of these figures include fees for producing and back-end compensation.

It’s good to be Dwayne Johnson. The versatile superstar has become one of TV’s highest-paid comedy players thanks to the success of HBO’s “Ballers.” Meanwhile, Donald Glover is betting on the long-tail theory with his FX series “Atlanta,” agreeing to more modest fees upfront in exchange for a larger share of the backend.

The “Will & Grace” quartet of Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean P. Hayes are back in the top echelon for the NBC revival series. The “Modern Family” and “Big Bang Theory” troupes had high-profile contract negotiations that plumped some paychecks. But it’s not all about the money. The original five stars of “Big Bang” agreed to slight pay cuts to help fund raises for their co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch.

COMEDY ACTOR SHOW/NETWORK Per-Episode Estimate Kaley Cuoco The Big Bang Theory/CBS $900,000 Johnny Galecki The Big Bang Theory/CBS $900,000 Simon Helberg The Big Bang Theory/CBS $900,000 Kunal Nayyar The Big Bang Theory/CBS $900,000 Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory/CBS $900,000 Dwayne Johnson Ballers/HBO $650,000 Mayim Bialik The Big Bang Theory/CBS $500,000 Julie Bowen Modern Family/ABC $500,000 Ty Burrell Modern Family/ABC $500,000 Jesse Tyler Ferguson Modern Family/ABC $500,000 Ed O’Neill Modern Family/ABC $500,000 Melissa Rauch The Big Bang Theory/CBS $500,000 Eric Stonestreet Modern Family/ABC $500,000 Sofia Vergara Modern Family/ABC $500,000 Jeffrey Tambor Transparent/Amazon $275,000 Roseanne Barr Roseanne/ABC $250,000 John Goodman Roseanne/ABC $250,000 Sean P. Hayes Will & Grace/NBC $250,000 Patricia Heaton The Middle/ABC $250,000 Julia Louis-Dreyfus Veep/HBO $250,000 Eric McCormack Will & Grace/NBC $250,000 Debra Messing Will & Grace/NBC $250,000 Megan Mullally Will & Grace/NBC $250,000 Kevin James Kevin Can Wait/CBS $200,000 Matt LeBlanc Man With a Plan/CBS $200,000 Ellie Kemper Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Netflix $150,000 Nick Nolte Graves/Epix $125,000 Leah Remini Kevin Can Wait/CBS $125,000 Craig Robinson Ghosted/Fox $125,000 Adam Scott Ghosted/Fox $125,000 Sela Ward Graves/Epix $125,000 Tituss Burgess Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Netflix $90,000 Donald Glover Atlanta/FX $75,000

How badly did Netflix want David Letterman on its platform? Enough to pay him an estimated $2 million per episode for a six-episode commitment for an in-depth interview series. That number has sent jaws dropping throughout the unscripted TV community. So did Katy Perry’s deal to preside as a judge over ABC’s new iteration of “American Idol.” Nevertheless, it’s two daytime syndication stars who pace the race for big paychecks among reality, news and host talent. DeGeneres has seen her salary and profit participation on “Ellen” soar in recent years. “Judge Judy” boss Judith Sheindlin is right behind her, and she stands to reap another eight-figure check this year on the sale of the show’s library to CBS.

REALITY/NEWS/HOST ACTOR SHOW/NETWORK ANNUAL SALARY ESTIMATE Ellen DeGeneres The Ellen DeGeneres Show /Syndicated $50m Judith Sheindlin Judge Judy/Syndicated $47m Matt Lauer Today/NBC $25m Katy Perry American Idol/ABC $25m Kelly Ripa Live With Kelly & Ryan/Syndicated $22m Megyn Kelly NBC News $18m Robin Roberts Good Morning America/ABC $18m Jimmy Fallon The Tonight Show/NBC $16m Stephen Colbert The Late Show/CBS $15m Jimmy Kimmel Jimmy Kimmel Live/ABC $15m Pat Sajak Wheel of Fortune/Syndicated $15m Ryan Seacrest Live With Kelly & Ryan/Syndicated $15m George Stephanopoulos ABC News $15m Anderson Cooper CNN $12m David Letterman Untitled interview show/Netflix* $12m Conan O’Brien Conan/TBS $12m Ryan Seacrest American Idol/ABC $12m Alec Baldwin Match Game/ABC $3m Jamie Foxx Beat Shazam/Fox $3m Mike Myers The Gong Show/ABC $3m Note: Some of these figures include fees for producing and back-end compensation.

*Netflix has ordered six episodes of the series

(Pictured: Dwayne Johnson, Robert De Niro, Emilia Clarke and David Letterman)