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By Stan Soocher
November 29, 2012

Second TV “Series Year” Can't Overlap with First Year in Determining Showrunner's Profit Participation

The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, decided that the term “Series Year” in a showrunner's development/production agreement with a TV studio referred to consecutive, rather than concurrent, time periods that would determine the showrunner's share of series income. Gibson v. Twentieth Century Fox Television, B230560. Reba TV series showrunner Allison Gibson argued in her breach-of-contract suit that Reba's second “Series Year” began when, in early 2002, Gibson began providing “material executive producer services” for the show's second season, though season one was still in production. Thus, Gibson claimed, she was entitled to a 25% increase in her “Modified Adjusted Gross Receipts” under the agreement's “pay-or-play” clause, as she was fired from the TV show in Spring 2002. But the court of appeal emphasized in an unpublished opinion: “Defendant's interpretation that the second Series year commences in June or July of the production of the Series is consistent with the language of the Agreement. Under defendant's interpretation, there is no anomaly of first Series year overlapping with the second Series year.”

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