A screenwriter has filed a lawsuit against Time Warner Entertainment, alleging that HBO's hit TV series Six Feet Under is based on a script she wrote in 1997, according to reports.

Six Feet Under is currently leading the race for the 2002 Prime Time Emmy Awards next month, with 23 nominations, including one for outstanding drama.

The quirky series picked up 23 nominations for the awards, including outstanding drama, with another hit drama, The West Wing, just behind with 21 nominations.

Gwen O'Donnell said she wrote a screenplay called The Funk Parlour and registered it with the Writers Guild of America in February 1998, according to Variety.

Damages

Funky Films, which is also said to be suing Time Warner, turned the script into an independent film and it is now in the final stages of post-production.

The complaint alleges violation of the federal copyright laws, and is seeking damages in excess of $20m (£13m) on behalf of Funky Films and $10m (£6.5m) on behalf of O'Donnell.

The case was filed at the US District Court in Los Angeles, Variety said.

Ms O'Donnell's lawsuit alleges that Chris Albrecht, who was HBO's head of original programming at the time, had access to Ms O'Donnell's script in the summer of 1999.

Kevin Spacey starred in Alan Ball's American Beauty

Several months later, HBO is alleged to have approached the Oscar-winning writer of American Beauty, Alan Ball, to write a show set in a funeral parlour.

The black comedy series centres around the members of a dysfunctional Pasadena family that runs an independent funeral parlour, and it has taken viewers in both the UK and the US by storm.

The complaint alleges that Six Feet Under is blatantly derived from The Funk Parlour, and that the setting, characters and themes are similar.

It cites several examples, including

the fact that the family lives in the funeral home

the story begins with the death of the family patriarch

the younger brother is gay

the father leaves the brothers the business

there is a younger, smart-mouthed female teenager in the family.

HBO's spokesman declined to comment, Variety reported.