Mike Rowe, the TV personality best known for hosting “Dirty Jobs,” sued Discovery for more than $2 million, alleging the company failed to properly pay out his narration fees for “Deadliest Catch.”
Rowe, along with his production company, Lab Rat, filed the lawsuit against Discovery Talent Services on Tuesday, where they alleged the company was in breach of its contract. Namely, the suit states Discovery did not honor the “pay-or-play” agreement in place for Rowe’s involvement with narrating the “Deadliest Catch” and its subsequent spinoffs.
Rowe, who has narrated the long-running series since 2005, made an agreement with DTS in 2020, which allegedly ensured he’d get $40,000 per episode. Additionally, per the suit, Rowe is supposed to be compensated for the episodes he does not narrate, that includes the aforementioned spinoffs.
According to the filing, DTS did not enlist his services for “Deadliest Catch: Bloodline,” “Deadliest Catch: The Viking Returns” and “Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge.”
And so, Rowe’s camp alleged that because Discovery “exercised its choice not to use [him] as a Narrator in at least 51 episodes of ‘Deadliest Catch’ spinoffs, Lab Rat is entitled to payment of at least $2.04 million (plus potentially additional payments for longer episodes.)”
“Lab Rat and Rowe have also learned that the episodes of the original ‘Deadliest Catch’ series that are aired internationally are materially different than the episodes aired in the United States,” the filing also noted. “To the extent any of these international episodes are determined to be ‘originally produced episodes,’ the pay-or-play agreement would apply to those as well.”
The New York Post was the first to report the lawsuit. A representative for Discovery did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
This is not the first time Rowe has sued Discovery, as, back in June 2025, he filed a suit against parent company Warner Bros. Discovery over claims they did not properly pay out his residuals after they licensed the series to streaming platforms.
A Discovery Network spokesperson refuted the claims at the time, noting in a statement to media, “We value our long-standing relationship with Rowe and have fulfilled our contractual obligations for royalty payments. We dispute the allegations and will defend ourselves against these claims.”
The post Mike Rowe Sues Discovery, Claims Over $2 Million in Unpaid ‘Deadliest Catch’ Narration Fees appeared first on TheWrap.
