Sometimes, real-life drama can be more thrilling than television. Okay, maybe not as compelling as illegal drug-smuggling featuring Bad Bunny, but we need to keep Benito safe. In a new lawsuit, Narcos director José Padilha claims that his producing partner on the series, showrunner Eric Newman, concealed revenue from him, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Their profit-sharing agreement stated that they would “equally split†all of the income from the popular Netflix series, however, Padilha claimed that Newman hasn’t kept up his end of the deal. A complaint filed on Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court stated that “despite having voluntarily accepted the trust reposed in him by Plaintiffs, and in violation of this relationship of trust, Newman (both individually and on behalf of Spahn Ranch) caused Narcos Revenues to be paid solely and directly to Defendants, without making Plaintiffs aware that these Narcos Revenues had been received by Defendants.â€
This is the second lawsuit related to Narcos profits: Executive producer Katie O’Connell Marsh sued Gaumont Television USA, the production company behind Narcos, for depriving her of “millions of dollars in bargained-for contingent compensation†for developing shows including Narcos and Hannibal. A trial for O’Connell Marsh’s lawsuit is set for this December. While the show might have ended in 2021, the drama continues!