The co-creator and producers of AMC’s smash hit “The Walking Dead” filed a lawsuit against the network Monday alleging they have been shorted on profits from the zombie-laden series.
AMC quickly denied any financial shenanigans, issuing a statement calling the allegations “baseless” and the lawsuit “predictably opportunistic.”
“This case arises from a major entertainment conglomerate’s failure to honor its contractual obligations to the creative people — the `talent,’ in industry jargon — behind the wildly successful and hugely profitable long- running television series `The Walking Dead,” according to the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
“The defendant AMC Entities exploited their vertically integrated corporate structure to combine both the production and the exhibition of (the show), which allowed AMC to keep the lion’s share of the series’ enormous profits for itself and not share it with the plaintiffs, as required by their contracts.”
The series co-creator, Robert Kirkman, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Joining in the lawsuit are producers Glen Mazzara, David Alpert and Gale Anne Hurd.
Hurd and Alpert are expected to file mirror lawsuits in New York due to contractual issues, according to the lawsuit. New York is the venue of a similar lawsuit filed previously by former “Walking Dead” showrunner Frank Darabont.
The eighth season of “The Walking Dead” is due to premiere in October.
In a statement issued by the network, AMC officials said the lawsuit is a common happenstance relating to successful shows.
“Virtually every studio that has had a successful show has been the target of litigation like this, and `The Walking Dead’ has been the #1 show on television for five years in a row, so this is no surprise,” according to AMC. “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 lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. The Hollywood Reporter suggested the litigation could become “the biggest-ever profits case in television history.”
–City News Service