Another Major ‘Walking Dead’ Franchise Lawsuit Was Just Filed

Like an undead corpse, AMC’s legal troubles with The Walking Dead franchise keep coming back again and again.

After AMC reached a $200 million settlement in 2021 with legendary director Frank Darabont over unpaid royalties regarding his creation of the original series, now the creator of spinoff Fear the Walking Dead has sued the network for breach of contract regarding payments.

Dave Erickson, who created the immensely popular spinoff for the network, is accusing the network of shortchanging him on backend payments in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in California state court, and said his latest statement from the network shows a $185 million deficit—meaning he’ll never break even on the series he created. He’s seeking a court order that modifies his payment structure, plus unspecified damages, according to a report from THR.

His lawyers, Aaron Liskin and Nick Soltman, told the publication that “created a massive hit for AMC in Fear the Walking Dead, expanding The Walking Dead Universe and cementing AMC as the zombie network,” and despite the show’s “extraordinary success, Mr. Erickson has not received a single dollar in profits from AMC and, absent this action, he never will.”

While AMC has not paid Erickson for his work, his suit alleges that $49 million has been paid to other participants in the show’s creation.

“Simply put, Erickson was being accounted to as if he had the worst possible definition for a hit show in the history of television,” Liskin wrote.

As the lawsuit plays out, it remains to be seen what consequences this will have for the rest of AMC’s ongoing Walking Dead spinoffs.