The team behind television’s most popular zombie show feels totally cheated, and they’re not afraid to ruffle some corporate feathers in order to get their cash. Earlier today, it was revealed that producers from The Walking Dead are suing AMC for a cool $1 billion. IP creator, Robert Kirkman, along with series producers Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, and Glen Mazzara have filed a complaint today with the Los Angeles Superior Court. According to multiple reports, including one from The Hollywood Reporter, Walking Dead creators are claiming that AMC is holding a vast majority of the show’s profits.
“The defendant AMC Entities,” the judicial statement begins “[have] exploited their vertically-integrated corporate structure to combine both the production and the exhibition of TWD, which allowed AMC to keep the lion’s share of the series’ enormous profits itself and not share it with the Plaintiffs, as required by their contracts.” The show’s producers allege that their work has made the network an incredible amount of money, and thusly, demand that their pockets are full in return. “Plaintiffs and the other talent behind TWD are the ones whose work to create, develop, write and produce the series has brought its huge success, but the fruits of that success have not been shared as they should be.”
AMC spokespeople have since responded to the lawsuit, calling it “fairly common” and reassuring concerned fans that it won’t effect the show’s current production. “Virtually every studio that has had a successful show has been the target of litigation like this,” AMC said. “The Walking Dead has been the No. 1 show on television for five years in a row, so this is no surprise. 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.”
Despite the ongoing drama, you can still expect the forthcoming season of The Walking Dead to launch this fall. The first episode will air on October 22 on AMC in the US and Canada.
