Could this be the season that Bones digs its way to the cancellation graveyard?
The latest behind the scenes controversy has put the Reaper on high alert, with THR reporting that exec producer Barry Josephson is suing the network over profits and cancellation threats:
Bones executive producer Barry Josephson has filed a bombshell lawsuit against the Fox network and the parent of studio 20th Century Fox Television, claiming he’s been shortchanged due to Fox’s “unrelenting efforts” to cheat him out of his share of profits from the longest-running hourlong drama in Fox’s history. He also says he was “fraudulently threatened” by Rice and other execs into accepting a lower license fee from Fox or else face immediate cancellation of the show. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, seeks unspecified damages on breach of contract, fraudulent inducement and other claims.
Deadline has more:
Josephson then says Fox Network Group boss Peter Rice called him the same day to induce him to sign the agreement. In that conversation, Rice allegedly said he had two primetime schedules in front of him — one with Bones on the air and one without — and that the fate of the series was in Josephson’s hands. “Fox executives also informed Plaintiff or his representatives that all the other Participants had signed or would sign the Release,” the complaint adds.
That turned out to be untrue claims Josephson, who signed that reduced license fee agreement, because he learned that Deschanel and Boreanaz didn’t sign, and the show was not canceled. After a similar negotiating tactic for Seasons 7 and 8, Josephson called Fox’s bluff and refused to sign — and the show again wasn’t cancelled. “Plaintiff is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that there was never any real ‘negotiation’ between Fox and FBC regarding the renewal of the Series for seasons 5 and 6, and this sham ‘negotiation’ was simply another strong-arm tactic used by Fox to induce Plaintiff to sign the Release.”
Stay tuned as we continue to monitor the status of Bones Season 12…
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