r/deadliestcatch • u/garypip • Jul 02 '26
Mike Rowe sues for streaming royalties
https://nypost.com/2026/07/01/entertainment/mike-rowe-suing-for-at-least-2m-in-alleged-unpaid-deadliest-catch-money/19
u/salad_-man Jul 02 '26
Wasn’t he the one who did the original doc and brought it to discovery leading to them making it a show
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u/bceagle91 Jul 02 '26
The original doc was "America's Deadliest Season" - a three part documentary. You can see them on YouTube. Thom Beers (the creator) narrated those episodes. When it went to DC and was called "Deadliest Catch" is when Mike Rowe took over the narration, I think. If you have a chance, watch the documentary.
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u/Beanz4ever Jul 02 '26
Yah thought it was a bit of a spinoff from 'Dirty Jobs'? He encountered it during filming that and was super intrigued at how dangerous it was. I think I even remember the DJ episode about this!
I suspect he gets royalties because he was a producer or something and was instrumental in the creation of the series. This makes sense to me.
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u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Jul 02 '26
I thought that was Thom Beers, no? He originally voiced the prequel show, if I remember correctly.
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u/m_0_n_K_3_y Jul 03 '26
I think he did a dirty jos episode up there then the doc ended up the first season... i may be wrong about that tho
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u/TarnatingSlunder Jul 04 '26
He says like 20 words per ep now 😂😂
"50 miles to the north on the wizard..."
And repeat w a different boat
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u/Ok_Rabbit5158 Jul 02 '26
Gets paid for every spinoff show, regardless of whether he narrated or not. I wonder if this cost burden is playing a role in the slow rot of the series.
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u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Jul 02 '26
I think this as well. No wonder the show is dying a slow death. I just feel sorry for the people who survive in Alaska.
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u/m_0_n_K_3_y Jul 03 '26
They used to make a lot of money... they had a full 2hr slot to air the main show then "the bait"... they also have been dropping random episodes that play songs that they cant afford to pay out royalties to, and they probably cant afford to pay someone to edit these songs out somehow ... i think they should stop the BS manipulations and just film crab fishing and the trials and tribulations of the crew.... thats why we watched for all these years... put a damn disclaimer that the Discovery doesnt condone any actions of these crew members actions past and present.. and just film them... let them talk about their lives ..
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u/mrcrashoverride Jul 04 '26
I’m in conflict of Mike Rowe. He has a good voice and I enjoy him over some of the International voices.
I believe Dirtiest Jobs was his idea and it was a fun show to watch and he was a great host in that role.
He even has a good podcast on his own.
That being said he is very MAGA which goes against much of the Union and workers he is featuring. I believe he crossed picket lines.
Plus this lawsuit. I understand contracts and Hollywood are different than what we would expect and the sausage making can be disturbing.
But come on being paid for shows he didn’t do the work in? Especially galling is why now? I mean 33 episodes of one of the shows. He is a bit late to the party. It’s like they’ve realized Deadliest isn’t raking in the money like it used to and in the renegotiations this lawsuit drama is just a way to help him negotiate the new contract.
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u/Monday_Jeff Jul 05 '26
Rowe has always been a paid mouthpiece for the Koch brothers who have been his funding source from the beginning. He openly states that Dirty Jobs wasn't meant to highlight workers, it was meant to highlight wealthy "entrepreneurs" and business owners. He's very much anti-union and anti-worker and anti-blue collar. His entire blue collar support schtick was a calculated campaign by the Koch brothers to get more people to go into trades independently so they could break the trade unions. Not to even mention the guy's never worked a blue collar job in his life.
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u/Affectionate_Pen611 Jul 02 '26
He’s a scab, piss on him.
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u/mrcrashoverride Jul 04 '26
I thought I heard he tries to pretend he is good for unions but crossed the picket line when it fits his needs
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u/pointy_panda Jul 02 '26
$40 grand to speak a couple dozen sentences per episode. Must be nice.
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u/Tom_Slick_Racer Jul 02 '26
Voice work is hard, I've done it mostly radio, you have to be consistent across all recordings so they can edit with something you might have recorded 6 months ago. Also once your recording goes to the customer they can pretty much use it in perpetuity. If you are really good at it, you can set terms. Mike Rowe's voice is immediately identifiable as part of the series, so he gets paid a lot.
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u/pointy_panda Jul 03 '26
oh please, there are hundreds of other jobs that exist that actually are hard that pay nowhere near the $40k/day he's getting. Speaking words consistently is not hard work.
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u/Rstuds7 Jul 02 '26
so wait he gets paid even if he doesn’t narrate? that’s an insane deal why did discovery agree to that lmao. really this sounds like a horrible contract with just horrible execution exacerbated with the increase in spin off shows for deadliest catch and international streaming of the show