--- description: A writer claims the BBC screenplay is based off an idea he submitted to the production company a decade ago title: Writer Suing BBC Over Orphan Black Screenplay image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Orphan Black Creators Sued for Cloning Writer's Idea by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2014 1:03 AM CUT by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 22, 2014 1:03 AM CUT Either the _Orphan Black_ plot was cloned or the hit BBC show’s producers have some explaining to do. That is, at least, according to a writer suing BBC and Temple Street Productions for copyright infringement. Writer Stephen Hendricks claims [key aspects of the show](http://time.com/70179/orphan-black-fan-following-reception/ "undefined") are near carbon copies of plot points from a screenplay he submitted to Temple Street co-president, David Fortier, in 2004, according to a [_Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/21/orphan-black-lawsuit%5Fn%5F5187137.html "undefined") report. In the complaint, Hendricks says the protagonist in his screenplay “Double Double” and the protagonist in _Orphan Black_ are both “young (early 20s) attractive women who want the same thing: to understand who they are and where they come from.” Cloning is also a recurring theme in Hendricks work, much like the BBC show about a young woman who discovers she and many others are clones. Orphan Black’s creators are listed as Graeme Manson and John Fawcett, who reportedly sent a spec script to Fortier. Hendricks says they’re script has to be based off of his idea. He’s seeking $5 million in damages from the suit. \[[_Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/21/orphan-black-lawsuit%5Fn%5F5187137.html?&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/71219/orphan-black-lawsuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/71219/orphan-black-lawsuit/"},"headline":"Orphan Black Creators Sued for Cloning Writer's Idea","datePublished":"2014-04-22T01:03:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:25:16.427Z","description":"A writer claims the BBC screenplay is based off an idea he submitted to the production company a decade ago","url":"https://time.com/71219/orphan-black-lawsuit/","keywords":["Television","TV Shows","BBC","lawsuits"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/71219/orphan-black-lawsuit/","name":"Orphan Black Creators Sued for Cloning Writer's Idea"}}]}] ```