AMC Global Media has agreed to pay $120 million to Robert Kirkman and four other producers behind The Walking Dead, closing out a lawsuit that accused the network of manipulating profit formulas to shortchange the show's creative team. The deal ends litigation that began in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2022 and later moved to federal court, and it pushes the combined headline value of settlements tied to the zombie franchise past $300 million.
According to court papers cited by MyNewsLA, AMC Global Media agreed to the payment to resolve claims brought by Kirkman and producers Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Glen Mazzara and Charles Eglee. The parties described it as an amicable resolution of all their remaining claims and litigation related to The Walking Dead franchise. Combined with the $200 million AMC paid former showrunner Frank Darabont and Creative Artists Agency in July 2021, the combined headline value of the two settlement agreements tied to the franchise is $320 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
At the center of the fight was Modified Adjusted Gross Receipts, or MAGR, the internal accounting formula that determines what a show's profit participants are owed. AMC acquired television rights to Robert Kirkman's comic book series in 2009, but per Comic Basics, the network did not formally define its MAGR formula until 2011, after the show had already become a ratings hit — a timing gap plaintiffs said set the stage for years of disputed accounting.
How the Payment Breaks Down
AMC expects to pay $85 million of the settlement this month, with the remaining $35 million due by January 31, 2027. The Los Angeles Times reports that the later $35 million installment is structured as an advance against future MAGR participation rather than a straight buyout, meaning the producers retain their stake in profits the franchise generates going forward, per the Los Angeles Times. Those terms cover both the flagship series and its first spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead.
AMC disclosed the settlement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulatory filings show the $120 million deal requires a one-time $85 million charge in the third quarter of 2026 and cuts the company's estimated full-year free cash flow from $220 million down to $150 million, the same LA Times report notes. The settlement also headed off a federal trial that had been scheduled for October 2026, after a California federal judge rejected AMC's motion to throw out the lawsuit back in March 2024.
An Earlier Loss, Then a Reversal
The road to settlement wasn't straightforward for the producers. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel J. Buckley had actually ruled in AMC's favor on seven contract interpretation issues during a 2020 bench trial, holding that the contracts unambiguously allowed the network to apply its own standard MAGR definition, according to Law & Crime. That early defeat didn't end the fight, though. The momentum shifted the following year when Darabont's $200 million settlement, which included cash plus future revenue sharing tied to streaming rights, prompted Kirkman and his fellow producers to revisit their legal strategy, according to Lowe & Associates.
The settlement resolved claims brought jointly by five main show producers and affiliated production companies, per Nerdist.
Franchise Still Worth Billions to AMC
Despite the payouts, The Walking Dead universe remains a massive commercial engine for AMC. In July 2026, AMC Global Media struck a five-year, $500 million co-exclusive worldwide deal with Netflix for all 371 episodes in the franchise, according to Media Play News. Netflix had previously held exclusive domestic streaming rights to the flagship series dating back to 2011.
According to AMC Networks' SEC-filed Form 10-K, content licensing revenue comes from licensing original programming for digital, foreign and home-video distribution. AMC Networks said in an SEC-filed quarterly report that content-licensing revenue varies with the timing and availability of programming to distributors.
AMC's accounting troubles over the franchise aren't fully resolved, either. Fear the Walking Dead co-creator and showrunner Dave Erickson filed a separate breach of contract suit in California state court in November 2025, seeking monetary damages over unpaid profits, as reported by TheWrap. Erickson alleged AMC paid him no profits while other participants received tens of millions, a claim that remains pending and unresolved in court.
