A television writer claims that the idea for “South Beach,” the UPN series excutive-produced by Jennifer Lopez, was stolen from him.

Jack Bunick says that he had come up with the concept for the show based on his own move from Brooklyn to Miami. He filed a lawsuit on April 11 in Manhattan claiming that “South Beach” copies a script he wrote in 1999 for the pilot episode of a show he had titled “South Beach Miami.” The UPN series debuted Jan. 11.

The federal suit states that Bunick’s script was about two young men from Brooklyn who travel to Miami, where one of them gets caught up in the club and modeling scenes, reports the Associated Press.

UPN has described “South Beach” as a show about two best friends from Brooklyn who “abandon their world as they know it and head to the alluring paradise of sandy beaches, beautiful people and hot spots in glamorous South Beach.”

According to Bunick, his agent had sent a copy of his script to a UPN executive in February 2000 but the network did not respond. Bunick is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to bar further broadcasting of “South Beach.” The show aired Wednesdays at 8 p.m. but has been canceled.






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