A reality showrunner two seasons into a returning unscripted format, a showrunner credit that had never made it onto delivered episodes, a backend definition that excluded ancillary and format sales, and a fresh renewal offer that assumed the old terms were fine. We rebuilt the deal from the credit line down.
Her replacement on Season Two was credited as Executive Producer. The production company had already begun licensing the format internationally and rolled out two branded live events. The backend definition in her original deal covered only U.S. broadcast license fees. Format sales, live-event revenue, and international licensing were excluded by silence.
The production company delivered a Season Three renewal on the same paper and asked her to countersign.
We split the problems and ran the credit fix first. We pulled every delivered episode's chyron, the master delivery list, the WGA and non-WGA credit determination paper, and the production company's own press releases identifying her as the showrunner. We opened a written credit dispute, corrected the delivered episodes for the streamer's back-catalog listing, and recorded the correct credit line for all future deliveries.
On the backend, we rewrote the definition to include format sales, live-event revenue, international licensing, and ancillary merchandise tied to the format. We added a quarterly accounting requirement, a three-year audit right, and a look-back covering the two prior seasons on the same definition.
The Season Three renewal signed on the corrected paper with a written acknowledgment of prior credit.
"I built the show. Now the paper says so."
— A.K., Showrunner
Production companies renew on the paper that already exists because that paper is easy to reuse. Nobody on the studio side is incentivized to catch a credit error or a backend gap from two seasons ago. A.K.'s renewal offer would have carried both problems forward untouched if she had signed it as delivered.
Credit and money are separate fights with separate proof. The credit dispute runs on chyrons, delivery records, and guild determination paper. The backend fight runs on what the definition actually says, line by line, and what it leaves out by silence.
We handle showrunner and unscripted producer deals, credit disputes, and backend audits across returning formats, and we run the credit fix and the money fix together when a renewal is on the table.
Most engagements are flat fee, quoted before the work begins — and most matters resolve without litigation. Start with a free consultation.