
Hayden Christensen found himself in the midst of a lawsuit after he alleged the USA Network swiped his show idea. Back in 2010, Hayden and his brother, Tove Christensen, filed suit against USA over the show "Royal Pains" for breaking an implied contract. "Royal Pains," a fictional show about a private doctor working in the Hamptons, was a hit, but the brothers claimed that the premise was actually lifted from an idea they'd been shopping around. Their concept was slightly different from what ended up on USA: Hayden and Tove came up with an idea for a show about a concierge doctor working in Malibu, not the Hamptons, per The Hollywood Reporter.
That's where things get complicated. Tove and Hayden created a treatment for the concept, which was passed along to an executive at USA who met with them to discuss purchasing the show. However, no deal was ever made and it wasn't until roughly four years later that the USA premiered "Royal Pains."
A judge dismissed the original case, but upon appeal, the brothers brought it back to court before ultimately reaching a settlement. Each side agreed to cover their own legal fees, which were likely not insignificant, per The Hollywood Reporter. "Royal Pains," meanwhile, played for eight seasons. If, as the Christensens seem to believe, the USA Network actually did rip them off, that eight-season run could have meant a massive paycheck had things worked out differently.
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