Dick Wolf by RJ Capak/WireImage.com
Dick Wolf and NBC Universal have had an extremely successful marriage of the minds and pocketbooks over the 19-years of the multiple Law & Order series' runs. However, now the two powerhouses are locking horns over profits from the procedural mega-hits.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Wolf's friends and employees say he "believes he has been systematically cheated by NBC." Apparently, Wolf thinks the company "sold the show at a cheap in-house price to its own cable outlets rather than getting the best deal possible by letting other networks bid on it."
Wolf's not the only one in Hollywood to cry foul regarding show profits — David Duchovny also filed a lawsuit in 1999 alleging Fox had cheated him out of syndication profits from the long-running X-Files series — and went on to win a rumored $20 million.
The Wolf-NBC negotiations, which were held behind closed doors, fell in favor of the network. But, that was just one of the issues on the table. Wolf is also upset that NBC is under-promoting new episodes while overplaying reruns which would cause viewer fatigue. And that, ladies and gentleman of the jury, is the real issue. Ratings are down, and powers-that-be are freaking.
NBC, says the Journal, believes Wolf is being greedy; he will, after all, be earning around $750 million if the shows hang on a few more years.
Do you think NBC and Wolf should get over themselves and get back to work? Or do you think Wolf deserves a bigger piece of the pie? — Erin Fox
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