A new lawsuit against CBS is being described as a “sham” from the network. According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS is facing a suit over profits from its 2016 reboot of MacGyver. The plaintiffs in the suit allege they are owed payments from the series according to an agreement set prior to the original show’s run.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hanzer Holdings and Arlita argued in 2018 that CBS owed them payments due to an agreement that was set in motion between Paramount, series producer Henry Winkler (Barry, Happy Days), director John Rich (Easy Come, Easy Go, Gomer Pyle), and the now-dissolved Major Talent Agency. Suing CBS for breach of contract, Hanzer and Arlita describe they are to receive payment in the event any spinoffs, reboots, revivals, or remakes of the series were created. As successors of MTA, Hanzer and Artlita allege they are due residuals for the current show starring Lucas Till (Hannah Montana: The Movie, Monster Trucks).
CBS argues the very basis of the plaintiffs’ argument is flawed and based on untruths, according to The Hollywood Reporter. CBS states the contract never included anything other than spinoffs, which their MacGyver reboot is not. In addition, they conclude that Hanzer Holdings and Arlita’s connection to MTA is non-existent.
“While MTA had a contractual relationship with Paramount prior to that time, its rights terminated by late 1985 when it dissolved and stopped performing,” CBS’s filing states via The Hollywood Reporter. “But, as discovery has revealed, Richard Weston (a former employee of MTA, and now the sole owner of plaintiff Arlita) and Hanzer Holdings saw an opportunity to hide the truth from Paramount – that MTA was gone, could not perform, and was no longer entitled to any ongoing agency commissions from MacGyver and MTA’s talent clients. So they pulled fast one. They covertly chose to have another company, Amivida Company (“Amivida”), quickly become a talent agency and start using MTA’s name, logo and business address in connection with the MacGyver series. While Amivida never had any contractual right to work on MacGyver, by masquerading as MTA, Paramount would be none the wiser,” the filing continued via The Hollywood Reporter.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the next court date is set for April 15. The original MacGyver starred Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate Universe, Stargate SG-1) as the Pheonix Foundation agent who could craft one-the-fly solutions in tight situations.