‘Walking Dead’ producers sue AMC, saying they weren’t paid enough
Four executive producers of the hit cable series “The Walking Dead” are suing AMC, alleging they were not paid their fair share of the show’s profits.
In a complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, plaintiffs Robert Kirkman, Glen Mazzara, David Alpert, Gale Anne Hurd and their respective companies alleged that AMC Networks Inc. and its affiliated entities breached agreements related to the popular TV show and its related series “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Talking Dead.”
The lawsuit alleges that AMC Studios, which owns “The Walking Dead,” and the AMC Network, which airs the show, took an unfair portion of the series’ profits, leaving the producers with less than they were entitled to.
“When the production company and the network are part of the same conglomerate … there is a powerful financial incentive to keep the lion’s share of the profit at the network level and not pay a fair-market-value license fee to the production company,” the lawsuit says.
“If AMC Studio and AMC Network were not part of the same conglomerate, the story would be very different,” the lawsuit alleges.
AMC called the suit “baseless” and “opportunistic.”
For other popular shows — such as “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” — that aired on AMC Network but were produced by independent production companies, AMC negotiated “substantially larger” license fees than those for the first four seasons of “The Walking Dead,” the lawsuit says.
AMC said in a statement that this type of lawsuit comes as “no surprise” based on the success of “The Walking Dead.” The show has been on the air for seven seasons, with its eighth season set to begin in October.
“Virtually every studio that has had a successful show has been the target of litigation like this,” the network said. “We have enormous respect and appreciation for these plaintiffs, and we will continue to work with them as partners, even as we vigorously defend against this baseless and predictably opportunistic lawsuit.”
The plaintiffs tried to resolve their issues with the AMC entities before going to court, but those efforts “did not succeed,” according to the complaint.
AMC is also facing a separate legal battle with “Walking Dead” co-creator Frank Darabont and Creative Artists Agency for alleged breach of contractual obligations related to the show. That case is set for a hearing in New York this month.
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