'NCIS' Creator Don Bellisario Sues CBS Over Spinoff 'NCIS: Los Angeles'

[Brian Damage]

A 20-year successful partnership between a top TV producer and a major studio may end up in court. This morning, JAG and NCIS creator Don Bellisario is filing a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the series' producer CBS TV Studios over offshoot NCIS: Los Angeles. The complaint, which you can read here, is being filed at Los Angeles Superior Court by Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg.

Bellisario, who was let go from NCIS in 2007 after star Mark Harmon threatened to quit the show, has not been involved in the successful spinoff series which was developed the following year and launched in fall 2009 and has not received a penny from it. The filing aims to rectify that, claiming that under Bellisario's contracts with CBS TV Studios and its predecessors, Bellisario had a right of "first opportunity" "to participate creatively in economically in the development" of any "new spinoffs, sequels or remakes" of any series he had created for the studio as long as he worked on the original series for the first 2 seasons. The suit claims that CBS denied Bellisario that right as he was never offered to create or be part of NCIS: LA, which was written by Shane Brennan, former No.2 to Bellisario on NCIS who took over the hit series after Bellisario's ouster at the end of Season 4. "Pursuant to the first opportunity provisions of Plaintiffs’ contracts with CBS, CBS is contractually obligated to compensate Bellisario for NCIS:LA, including a percentage of its profits as well as a certain fixed compensation," the suit says.

The amount of damages sought is not specified in the complaint but NCIS: LA is estimated to generate more than a billion dollar in revenue for the studio over its run between network license fee, the lucrative off-network syndication deal with USA, which pays $2.3 million per episode for at least 10 seasons, the approximately $1.5 million per episode that international sales bring as well as auxiliary revenues. That means that the compensation, which the complaint claims Bellisario is entitled to, could reach $150 million - $200 million.

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