Jim Parsons tops Forbes' best-paid TV actors list

The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons has maintained his title as the highest-paid actor in TV for the second consecutive year.

The actor tops the 2016 Forbes countdown with $25.5 million earned in the year since June, 2015, holding on to the number one spot he claimed last year (15).

Parson's TV co-stars are not far behind - Johnny Galecki is second with $24 million, and Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar take third and fourth place with $22.5 million and $22 million, respectively.

The Big Bang Theory, which is currently in its 10th season, has also helped female lead Kaley Cuoco rocket up the Forbes poll for the world's best-paid actresses, placing second in the 2016 survey with $24.5 million, behind Modern Family's Sofia Vergara.

The stars of the nerdy sitcom earned their high positions after renegotiating their contracts with U.S. network bosses at CBS in 2014, which reportedly banked Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco $1 million per episode.

Prior to the new deal, Forbes ranked Parsons in ninth place.

Back in the actors' countdown, NCIS star Mark Harmon rounds out the top five with a $20 million take, while Modern Family castmates Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Ed O'Neill all appear in the top 10, with Eric Stonestreet just missing the cut at 11.

Other notable names featured in the new Forbes list include Kevin Spacey, David Duchovny, and Michael Weatherly.