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Exclusive: In a highly unusual situation, ABC is preparing to foot a bill worth more than $460,000 to ensure that contestants on game show Lucky 13 receive the winnings they are owed.

Even though it is under no legal obligation to do so, the Disney-owned network is close to finalizing an agreement under which Lucky 13 winners will receive their prize pots after the messy demise of the series hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez.

Lucky 13 was lucky by name, but not lucky by nature for those involved in the making of the show, which aired on ABC last year under a novel greenlight model. UK producer Studio 1 pre-funded Lucky 13 in return for a share of ABC’s advertising and product placement sales, but revenue fell well short of projections and the show was not renewed for a second season.

Lucky 13 Holdings and Studio 13 Entertainment, the special...

Exclusive: Lucky 13 has proved unfortunate for those involved in making the ABC game show.

Several sources said hosts Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez — as well as equipment and services firms, and individuals who worked on the series — are cumulatively owed at least $500,000.

Deadline revealed last week that Lucky 13 would not be renewed for a second season after its unusual financing model turned sour. UK producer Studio 1 pre-funded Lucky 13 in return for a share of ABC’s advertising and product placement sales, but revenue fell well short of projections. Studio 1 is now being chased for the unpaid cash.

An ABC source said the Disney-owned network is working to ensure O’Neal and Rodriguez, who doubled as executive producers, receive payment. A rep for the presenters has been contacted for comment. ABC had no comment.

Contractors out of pocket include Funicular Goats, which has worked on projects such...

Exclusive: Lucky 13, the ABC game show hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez, will not return for a second season after failing to strike it lucky.

The series, created by the team that developed Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and first revealed by Deadline, was more of an acquisition than a traditional greenlight by ABC.

Under the unusual greenlight model, producer Studio 1 pre-funded Lucky 13 in return for a share of ABC’s advertising and product placement sales on the show.

The trouble for Studio 1 was that Lucky 13‘s actual ad revenue fell well short of the producer’s projections, which Deadline understands were independently verified.

This was despite the show becoming ABC’s most-watched summer series premiere when it launched on the Disney-owned network in July with 2.7M viewers, beating CBS’s Big Brother. Lucky 13’s season finale was also ranked No. 1 in its time period.

British entertainment has lost a truly unique talent. From drag to dogs, gameshows to the gay scene, trailblazer Paul O’Grady was one of our very best. Millions of us who’ve savoured his effervescent screen presence over the past 35 years have been left heartbroken by the news that he has died aged 67. O’Grady’s versatile career as a comedian, TV presenter, radio DJ and theatre performer means that there are few Britons whose lives he hasn’t touched. It’s not hyperbole to suggest that he attained national treasure status.

I first became aware of O’Grady – although I didn’t know that was his name back then – on the stand-up comedy circuit during the Nineties. As his drag queen alter ego Lily Savage, he was a roof-raising riot. With near the knuckle gags (“Me and my husband have an open marriage. I’m hopin’ he’ll f*** off...

By this point in time, it seems that every conceivable World War II story had been told – from South of the Border, made in 1939 about an American agent working to prevent Nazis from seizing control of Mexican oil fields, to this year’s Monuments Men, George Clooney’s ode to the men trying to preserve Europe’s cultural heritage. But still, nearly 70 years after it ended, the second world war continues to deliver material for Hollywood to sink its claws into.

Based on the somewhat amazing true story about ordinary Hungarians and their struggle to save the lives of thousands of Jews marked for death, Walking with the Enemy skates on old Hollywood charm of good guys versus bad guys, with both being easy to identify on sight.

Inspired by the real-life exploits of Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum, a rabbi’s son from small-town Hungary, Walking with the Enemy shows the...

"I will not be intimidated." Liberty has debuted two new trailers for the indie WWII drama Walking with the Enemy, directed by Mark Schmidt, starring an international cast including Sir Ben Kingsley looking like a fine chap, all right, plus Jonas Armstrong (Book of Blood, Edge of Tomorrow), Hannah Tointon (The Children, The Body, The Lost Future), Burn Gorman (Pacific Rim, The Dark Knight Rises), Mark Wells and William Hope (Captain America, Dark Shadows). The film is set mostly in Hungary, and looks surprisingly powerful and epic, despite the indie feeling to it. Two new trailers join the original trailer a few months ago. This looks like it might be worth seeing, but it doesn't have many good reviews yet. Take a look. Here's the latest trailer (#3) for Mark Schmidt's Walking with the Enemy, in high def from Apple: Here's the other new trailer (#2) for Mark Schmidt's Walking with the Enemy,...