ABC is stepping in to save the day.
PEOPLE can confirm that the network is in negotiations to pay Lucky 13 game show contestants more than $460,000 — despite having no legal obligation to do so. Deadline was first to report the news.
The development comes after the series, which was hosted and executive produced by Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez, was cancelled after one season and its U.K. producer, Studio 1, declared bankruptcy.
ABC declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.
A spokesperson for Studio 1 did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment, but the company’s CEO Adrian Woolfe told Deadline in a statement: “We are in the process of taking proactive protective steps to restructure the Studio 1 business and to unlock and protect the value of the now-proven Lucky 13 IP. Rather than it being a direct commission, the unique commercial model on which the debut series was launched in the U.S. was underpinned by advertising revenues which given well-publicized market conditions regrettably, but unavoidably, fell acutely short of forecasts.”
Lucky 13 challenged its contestants to answer 13 true-or-false trivia questions, but with a cunning twist: they must accurately predict how many of the questions they answer correctly in order to take home the $1 million jackpot.
The game show aired on ABC in July 2024. According to Deadline, Studio 1 pre-funded the now-defunct series in exchange for a piece of the network’s advertising and product placement sales, but their projected revenue fell short when Lucky 13 failed to be renewed for a second season.
Shortly after, Studio 1’s special purpose companies, Lucky 13 Holdings and Studio 13 Entertainment, declared bankruptcy.
Per the outlet, several contractors, including O’Neal and Rodriguez, have yet to receive payment for their work. The 13 contestants who participated in the game show also have yet to be paid their winnings.
The contestants were awarded prizes totaling $461,500, with the biggest being $125,000 and the smallest being $3,750. Deadline‘s sources reported the participants should have received their winnings within 120 days of being on the show.
Reps for O’Neal and Rodriguez did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Besides O’Neal and Rodriguez, the show was executive produced by Kevin Bacon and Colin Smeeton and Michael Parris from O’Neal’s Jersey Legends Productions, as well as Mark Wells, Glenn Coomber, Aaron Stone, Alastair Burlingham, Gary Raskin, David Schiff, Scott Henry and GW Wright.
Woolfe created the show and also served as showrunner. Production on the series wrapped in June, and the final episode of Lucky 13 aired on Sept. 19, 2024.
Read the full article here
