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Glass House

CBS’ legal pursuit of Big Brother producers over Glass House now over

by Andy Dehnart 19 Aug. 2013 | 2:23 pm

The legal battles over ABC’s now-cancelled 2012 series The Glass House and its similarities to CBS’ Big Brother have ended, with CBS receiving a settlement and an apparent admission that one producer used materials from the CBS show.

After CBS lost in court, it kept pursuing legal action against producers who once worked on Big Brother, and those producers countersued for harassment.

Today, CBS said in a statement,

“We have reached a settlement in arbitration with the parties in The Glass House legal dispute. CBS will receive financial compensation as part of the settlement. The producers have admitted that one of them used confidential Big Brother manuals in the production of The Glass House, and they have expressed regret for using this material. In addition, those involved have pledged not to misappropriate CBS trade secrets in the future.”

Yes, I’m sure the production community is very anxious to rip off the top-secret trade secrets of how to cast people who say awful things and construct the exact same ejaculating challenges year after year. But hey, if it gets ratings, who really cares?

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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