‘Deadliest Catch’ Shocker: Mike Rowe Claims He’s Owed $2 Million for Work on Show

Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe has filed a lawsuit against Discovery, claiming that the network owes him over $2 million for narration work he did on Deadliest Catch.

According to People, Rowe and his production company, Lab Rat, filed the lawsuit against Discovery Talent Services on Wednesday, July 1. The suit claims that the company breached its contract by refusing to honor Rowe’s “pay-or-play” agreement for his work on Deadliest Catch and its spinoff series.

Rowe, who has narrated the reality series since 2005, allegedly signed an agreement in 2020 that would pay him $40,000 per episode. His lawyers also claim that Rowe is to be compensated for the episodes he does not narrate. The filing notes that Rowe was not used as a narrator for five episodes of Season 21.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that episodes that aired internationally are “materially different” from the episodes aired in the United States and should be considered “originally produced episodes.” Therefore, the suit states that Rowe’s “pay-or-play” agreement should also apply to those episodes.

In addition to Deadliest Catch, spinoffs include Deadliest Catch: The Bait (2013–2018), Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove (2016), Deadliest Catch: Bloodline (2020–2022), Deadliest Catch: The Viking Returns (2022), and the upcoming Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge, set to premiere in 2027.

The suit claims that Rowe was not paid for 33 episodes of Bloodline, 10 episodes of The Viking Returns, and 8 episodes of Northern Edge.

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“Because DTS exercised its choice not to use Rowe as a Narrator in at least 51 episodes of Deadliest Catch spinoffs, Lab Rat is entitled to payment of at least $2.04 million,” the suit states, including potential “additional payments for 12 longer episodes,” plus interest. They’re demanding a jury trial.

Discovery has yet to comment on the lawsuit.

Rowe previously filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery in June 2025, per People, claiming he was owed residuals after the company licensed the series to streaming platforms. A Discovery spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that it values its “long-standing relationship with Rowe and have fulfilled our contractual obligations for royalty payments.”