NCIS Creator Suing CBS After Not Being Paid For NCIS: Los Angeles

Fired after the show's fourth season, the 2007 canning severed a more than two decade relationship between Bellisario and CBS, during which time he created Magnum PI, Jag and NCIS. His contract reportedly specifies he gets a first look and financial gains from any spin-offs, but he hasn't seen a dime from NCIS: Los Angeles. The two parties squabbled behind the scenes for awhile, but today, the first drastic action was taken by Bellisario by way of a lawsuit demanding payment. Case closed, right? CBS certainly doesn't think so.

Releasing a statement in response to the litigation, CBS said, "Don Bellisario has no rights to what he is claiming in this suit. The contract is clear, the facts are undeniable and the courts won't need Naval intelligence to conclude that the case has no merit. We continue to honor all of our obligations to Mr. Bellisario under the actual agreement." Notice that snark? “Courts won't need Naval intelligence to conclude…”. Those are some balls on the Tiffany Network.