Warner Bros. is suing CBS!

Warner is seeking $49 million in a breach of contract case claiming that the network hasn’t paid up on agreed fees for airing the hit show Two and a Half Men. Yeah, apparently it’s a “hit show.”

In a renegotiated agreement for the show’s fifth and sixth season there was a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo which basically said that if the show reached a certain ratings milestone in its fourth season (which it did), then CBS owed Warner Bros. a “deficit recoupment” (ie. some money).

In a nutshell, “CBS has reaped the benefits of the tremendous success of ‘Two and a Half Men” but wants to deny Warner Bros. the right to its agreed-upon share” as the complaint submitted to a LA Superior Court reads.

A major television studio suing a network is a pretty rare move in Hollywood, especially considering how Warner Bros. and CBS both own a piece of the CW pie. These sort of things are usually handled in private arbitration.

A CBS spokesman claimed he hadn’t heard of the case and declined further comment.