Well, here’s some pretty crappy news to bring to you this morning: Bryan Fuller has officially stepped down as showrunner on Star Trek: Discovery.
According to the report on Variety, Fuller’s fingerprints on the show won’t be completely abandoned, as it will still follow his ideas for the series. Moreover, he will continue to be involved in some capacity as executive producer, with Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts stepping up to joint-showrunner duties, and Akiva Goldsman expected to join in an unspecified creative role.
As to why this change has come about, by the sounds of things it has been a long time coming. Reportedly, CBS weren’t happy with Fuller dividing his time between this and Starz’ American Gods series (not to mention the Amazing Stories reboot he is currently working on for NBC), with the recent revelation that Discovery would be delayed by four months from its original release date of January 2017 to May 2017.
Also, there’s the revelation that the lead character – confirmed to be a female lieutenant – is yet to be cast. While the rest of the ensemble have reportedly been brought on board, the main role is proving to be elusive. Ultimately, this and a number of other reasons have meant that Fuller is having to take a back seat.
Obviously, from our perspective it’s a crying shame. Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me and Hannibal are all wonderfully inventive roles, and we were looking forward to seeing what he did with Discovery. Still, at least we have his take on American Gods to look forward to, and the new Trek series will still retain plenty of his input. In the meantime, Fuller seems confident enough with who he’s handing over the reins to:
Riker spent 7 years of TNG unready for Captaincy, @GretchenJBerg @AaronHarberts are ready. Thrilled to see them in command of the Bridge.
— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) October 27, 2016
Star Trek: Discovery will air on Netflix from May 2017. For all the latest TV news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
