Bosses at MTV are facing possible legal action from a writer who claims network executives copied his idea for hit reality show Jersey Shore.
Christopher Gambale wrote an outline for a show, entitled Guidos: A Reality Series, in 2006 and registered the idea with the Writer's Guild of America.
Gambale's show, which he later allegedly pitched to MTV, focused on a "sad, pathetic excuse for a male... usually native to the New York/New Jersey tristate area" who enjoys "nightclubbing", according to the New York Daily News.
And he has now threatened to sue MTV bosses over the alleged similarities with Jersey Shore - Gambale's lawyers have given network bosses until 10 December (10) to respond to their claims before filing suit.