The best TV wigs can cost up to $25,000

Vulture

Wigs can get pricey on a show like Russian Doll, where Natasha Lyonne uses her own hair but her stunt doubles must wear wigs resembling her curly red mop. The best-case scenario for TV's best wigs, says Kathryn VanArendonk, is "that they are never recognized for what they are. In most cases, a wig that any viewer realizes is a wig is a failed wig, and TV is full of wigs that look much, much too wiggy. But the reason bad wigs are so easy to find is that good wigs are so hard to pull off. They are expensive, time-consuming, and finicky. They can present just as many challenges several years into a production as they can right when that production starts. They have to withstand all kinds of shooting challenges — wrestling, tumbling, hair-pulling. And they almost always cause problems along the hairline. Bad wigs on TV are so prevalent because good wigs are exercises in endless patience, minute attention to detail, and massive budgets. Really great wigs are akin to miracles." Unfortunately, not every TV show can afford expensive custom TV wigs.