“Fear the Walking Dead” co-creator Dave Erickson sued AMC Networks on Wednesday, accusing him of being denied a fair share of the show’s profits.
He became the seventh “Walking Dead” producer in the past decade to accuse the cable network of using Hollywood accounting tricks to avoid paying profit participants.
Erickson co-created a spin-off show in 2015 with comic book series creator Robert Kirkman. He also served as showrunner for three years.
Erickson took the job knowing that “one hit series could generate a lifetime annuity” for a successful showrunner, the lawsuit says. But Erickson received nothing in benefits, while others received up to $67 million, according to the lawsuit. According to the complaint, the station claims the program is $185 million in the red. That means he almost certainly won’t pay out a dime in profit.
The suit, like other lawsuits filed over “The Walking Dead,” alleges that AMC abused its role as both the show’s producer and exhibitor to assert false claims for the show’s revenue and avoid paying profits.
“Concerns about improper self-dealing are heightened when a vertically integrated conglomerate like AMC produces series and licenses them to a variety of domestic, international, cable, and streaming affiliates,” the complaint states. “Mr. Erickson brought this lawsuit to correct AMC’s gross misconduct and recover tens of millions of dollars in profits that are rightfully owed to him.”
“The Walking Dead” creator Frank Darabont and his agency CAA filed a similar lawsuit in 2013, which was ultimately settled for $200 million eight years later. Kirkman and four other producers filed suit in 2017. That suit was dismissed by a state judge in Los Angeles, but the producers filed again in federal court, and the case is pending.
AMC denied Erickson’s claims in a statement.
“This lawsuit, like Mr. Kirkman’s several years ago, is without merit,” said Orrin Snyder, the company’s attorney. “We are confident that it will fail just like last time. This deal was negotiated by some of the most experienced and sophisticated legal talent in Hollywood, and AMC has paid all amounts owed. This is simply another despicable money grab.”
Erickson says he worked for AMC under an overall contract that gave him 5% of the “adjusted gross revenue” from “Fear the Walking Dead.” The lawsuit alleges that AMC did not actually provide the MAGR definition to Erickson’s representatives until years later, but was assured that it would be the same definition that applied to everyone else.
It wasn’t until he was later informed that the show was nearly $200 million in the red that he realized it was “the worst possible definition of a hit show in the history of television,” the suit says.
