Ted Lasso Co-Creator Bill Lawrence Just Signed A Nine-Figure Deal With Warner Bros. TV
"Ted Lasso" co-creator and showrunner Bill Lawrence is in it for the long haul at Warner Bros. Television. Lawrence, who also created "Scrubs" and co-created "Spin City," among other shows, has signed a new nine-figure deal that will keep him at Warner Bros. until 2028.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lawrence's current eight-figure deal with Warners expires next year. It was hammered out in 2018 before "Ted Lasso" premiered and became the Emmy favorite and streaming phenomenon that it is now. The show's success allowed Lawrence to negotiate a raise that will reportedly earn him upwards of $100 million over five years (per Deadline) as he wraps up the flagship Apple TV+ series and continues to develop new projects at the studio.
As THR notes, the streaming age has reduced the revenue that television creators would, in times past, have received from syndication and international distribution of their shows. Owing to this, it's imperative that they negotiate better up-front deals since they can no longer rely on those backend payouts. With this nine-figure deal, Lawrence joins the upper echelons of creators such as Greg Berlanti, who oversees The CW's Arrowverse, Alex Kurtzman, who oversees the "Star Trek" franchise for Paramount+, and Shonda Rhimes, the producer of shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," and "How to Get Away with Murder."
Projects Lawrence Has in the Pipeline
The cast of "Ted Lasso" and writing team behind it already earned a raise last September just before the Emmys, and though the show is set to end after its third season, there's an option in their contracts for additional possible seasons. The decision to conclude "Ted Lasso" ultimately lies with star Jason Sudeikis, though Warner Bros. has reportedly expressed interest in continuing it in spin-offs or other forms. Brett Goldstein, who plays the character Roy Kent and serves as a writer and executive producer behind the camera, also recently secured a deal that will keep him exclusive to Warner Bros. Television.
Lawrence and Goldstein already have one project they are developing with Jason Segel called "Shrinking," which follows a "a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks." Lawrence is also masterminding "Bad Monkey," which stars Vince Vaughn as "a former detective who gets caught up in a possible murder investigation after a tourist finds a severed arm while fishing."
"Bad Monkey" just went into production this week, while "Shrinking" is eyeing a spring start. While Apple TV+ is the distribution platform for these projects, they are both co-productions of Warner Bros. and Lawrence's own label, Doozer Productions.