AMC Networks has reached a $200 million settlement deal with Frank Darabont and CAA in the long-running profit participation lawsuit over “The Walking Dead.”
The deal calls for AMC Networks to pay Darabont and CAA a total of $200 million. They will continue to receive a share of future profits from streaming deals tied to “The Walking Dead” and spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead.” But for all other “Walking Dead”-related content, the settlement buys out the plaintiffs’ rights.
AMC Networks disclosed the settlement in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday. Representatives for Darabont and CAA declined to comment. AMC Networks did not elaborate beyond the SEC filing. AMC had to disclose the payment because it will essentially wipe out the company’s free cash flow for 2021, a big change from the $200 million that AMC executives forecast for full-year 2021 to Wall Street analysts during an earnings call in May.