"Will & Grace" creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (of KoMut
Entertainment… I don't get it either) have settled their 2003 lawsuit
with NBC over claims of fraud and breach of contract, contending that
the Peacockers cheated them out of millions of dollars.
The exact sum of the settlement has not been disclosed, but I'm sure its enough to
make up for the millions of doors that will no doubt close as a result
of team KoMut taking on one of the big four networks (or top five at
least, depending on how rowdy the CW is on any particular week).
Kohan and Mutchnick are using this strategic settlement as the third
phase of their plan to completely ruin NBC – the first two parts were
the creation of the sitcoms "Good Morning, Miami" and "Four Kings."
You remember those shows, right? No? Really?
Kohan and Mutchnick are claiming that NBC Studios and the network cut
themselves a $300 million "sweetheart deal" by charging tens of
millions below fair-market value for the show when negotiating its
licensing fee as part of a long-term renewal deal. It's that sort of
cryptic legal mumbo jumbo that keeps NBC at the top and Kohan and
Mutchnick's lawyers merely confused, reaching for dictionaries left
and right.
The verdict of the trial was reached last Wednesday after six days of
deliberations. Before the verdict could read it, NBC's legal team
pointed out that one of the jury members ran a Website that criticized
corporations, including NBC. While the terms of the settlement will
never be known to outsiders, the Kohan and Mutchnick's attorney claims
they were "very happy" with the settlement. Since they had originally
asked for $55 million, its fair to guess they got at least half of
that, or perhaps a deal for an additional 13 episodes of "Good
Morning, Miami." Don't call it a comeback! Let's get "Miami'"s star,
Mark Feuerstein, on the phone! He's itching to bring that character
back to the small screen.
