A screenwriter has filed a lawsuit against Showtime, specifically for the show Ray Donovan, claiming that he was ripped off.
According to TMZ, Brian Larsen is accusing Showtime of ripping off a script he pitched to the premium cable network four years ago called The Swissman. He says that when he first approached Showtime, an executive was interested in the project, but it never went through.
He says that Ray Donovan contains many of the same ideas that he had originally pitched back in 2010. Deadline reports that Larsen's pitch was about a fixer who helps wealthy clients out of problems they'd rather have handled quietly and under the radar. The character also has a dysfunctional family.
The lawsuit, which claims the show has "enriched Defendants to the tune of millions of dollars," does not name either the credited creator, Ann Biderman, nor the executive producer, Mark Gordon. Instead it targets the exec who Larsen had originally talked to, former Showtime Original Programming VP Danielle Gelber, who currently is a senior exec at Dick Wolf Films.
Larsen wants the show halted and monetary damages of more than $25,000 over the alleged copying of his idea.
image courtesy of Showtime/CBS