All is not right in Stars Hollow.
Deadline reports executive producer Gavin Polone is suing Warner Brothers Television for its upcoming Gilmore Girls revival. Polone filed the case with the Los Angeles Supreme Court on Friday, listing former production company Hoffund/ Polone as the plaintiff. He alleges that he played part in the creation of the show “In or about the early fall of 1999, Polone and veteran writer Amy Sherman- Palladino developed the idea for the television series Gilmore Girls,” the official court claim reads. After pitching it to WBTV, the studio ordered cult- favorite dramedy to series. “At the WB Network’s urging, plaintiff (Polone) partnered with defendant (WBTV) to produce the series.” As a part of this partnership, Polone allegedly entered into an “Operative Agreement” where he would receive $32,500 for each episode of Gilmore Girls as well as an executive- producer credit. Herein lies the dispute. Polone alleges that Warner Bros. isn’t giving him any financial compensation, claiming that their explanation is that the upcoming episodes on Netflix are”derivative works” of the original Gilmore Girls. WBTV has yet to comment on the suit.
Polone served as executive- producer on the original show for all seven of its seasons. The claim also cites the original run of Gilmore Girls‘ success. It became the second highest rated program for the WB network and the first rated within the prized 18- 49 year- old demographic in the 2004- 2005 tv season.
Polone has had a pretty prolific producing career in film and television since Gilmore Girls. His previous projects include Curb Your Enthusiasm, My boys, and the upcoming Zombieland 2.
This is just the latest in the gloriously constant stream of Gilmore Girls updates. The enviably caffeinated mother- daughter pair will be returning in the form of four 90- minute installments (each set in each season of a single year). Nearly everyone who’s ever been on the show (except for Max Medina, but thankfully Sookie) is appearing whether they be from Yale or the borderline David Lynch- ian Stars Hollow. Even stars from other shows affiliated with Gilmore Girls like Sutton Foster of Sherman- Palladino’s Bunheads and Lauren Graham’s Parenthood daughter Mae Whitman will appear.
There’s no telling the outcome of this legal suit, but it would take a lot for there to be any lasting damage to the buzz juggernaut this project has become.