{"id":737926,"date":"2026-07-02T00:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/737926\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T00:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:40:15","slug":"mike-rowe-suing-for-at-least-2m-in-alleged-unpaid-deadliest-catch-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/737926\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Rowe suing for at least $2M in alleged unpaid \u2018Deadliest Catch\u2019 money"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDirty Jobs\u201d host Mike Rowe<\/a> claims Discovery cheated him out of millions by launching \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d spinoffs without using him as the narrator, according to a new lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Rowe, who started to narrate \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d episodes back in 2005, filed a lawsuit against Discovery Talent Services (DTS) Tuesday claiming the network failed to pay him according to a deal they allegedly hammered out in 2020 stating Rowe would rake in $40,000 an episode.<\/p>\n

Rowe claims he was not paid as his agreement with the show stated. Discovery<\/p>\n

Rowe has worked on \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d since 2005. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Rowe and his production company Lab Rat were to be paid on a \u201cpay-or-play\u201d basis<\/a>, according to the lawsuit, meaning DTS was to either use Rowe\u2019s voice in episodes (play) or to pay him his hourly rate for any new episode they did have him narrate or used another narrator (pay).<\/p>\n

While an original agreement had Rowe locked into the pay-or-play basis for a specific period of time, an agreement in 2020 allegedly said Rowe was to be \u201clocked in for life\u201d to the deal, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

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The agreement allegedly included all originally produced episodes of \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d<\/a> and \u201cBering Sea Gold.\u201d The deal also \u201capplies with equal force to spinoffs of the original \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d series.<\/p>\n

Rowe claims he\u2019s owed more than $2,000,000 for his work. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The agreement was carried out without issue during spinoffs including \u201cDeadliest Catch: The Bait\u201d and \u201cDeadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, according to the lawsuit, Rowe was not cast as the narrator and was not paid for spinoffs \u201cDeadliest Catch: Bloodline (33 episodes),\u201d \u201cDeadliest Catch: The Viking Returns (10 episodes)\u201d and Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge (8 episodes)\u201d \u2014 a violation of the \u201cpay\u201d part of the alleged agreement.<\/p>\n

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Rowe also hosted the show \u201cDirty Jobs\u201d on Discovery. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cLab Rat and Rowe have also learned that the episodes of the original \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d series that are aired internationally are materially different than the episodes aired in the United States. To the extent any of these international episodes are determined to be \u201coriginally produced episodes,\u201d the pay-or-play agreement would apply to those as well,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Rowe and his legal team allegedly had discussions prior to filing the lawsuit where Discovery \u201cstated that its understanding of the pay-or-play provision in the Deal Memo is that the provision only applies when DTS chooses to have a Narrator in the episode,\u201d according to his lawyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause DTS exercised its choice not to use Rowe as a Narrator in at least 51 episodes of \u201cDeadliest Catch\u201d spinoffs, Lab Rat is entitled to a payment of at least $2.04 million,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n

The Post reached out to Discovery for comment.<\/p>\n

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