Mike Rowe Sues Discovery Over Millions In Alleged Unpaid Fees for Narrating 'Deadliest Catch' - Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip

Mike Rowe is taking Discovery to court.

The 64-year-old TV personality, best known for hosting the series Dirty Jobs, and his production company, Lab Rat, are suing Discovery over unpaid fees tied to his narrating another series, Deadliest Catch, according to The Wrap.

Mike and Lab Rat filed a lawsuit against Discovery Talent Services on Tuesday (June 30), alleging breach of contract, stating that the network did not fulfil the “pay-or-play” agreement for Mike narrating Deadliest Catch and its spinoffs.

According to the suit, Mike and Discovery Talent Services agreed in 2020 that he would get $40,000 per episode of Deadliest Catch, and he would also get paid for episodes he does not narrate, including any spinoffs.

Mike‘s team alleges that because “exercised its choice not to use [him] as a Narrator in at least 51 episodes of ‘Deadliest Catch’ spinoffs, Lab Rat is entitled to payment of at least $2.04 million (plus potentially additional payments for longer episodes.)”

“Lab Rat and Rowe have also learned that the episodes of the original ‘Deadliest Catch’ series that are aired internationally are materially different than the episodes aired in the United States,” the lawsuit states. “To the extent any of these international episodes are determined to be ‘originally produced episodes,’ the pay-or-play agreement would apply to those as well.”

A year ago, Mike Rowe sued parent company Warner Bros Discovery with claims he was not properly paid residuals after licensing the show to streaming platforms.

“We value our long-standing relationship with Rowe and have fulfilled our contractual obligations for royalty payments. We dispute the allegations and will defend ourselves against these claims,” a Discovery spokesperson said at that time.

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