The writers’ room at Star Trek: Discovery seems like quite a turbulent place to be. First, original showrunner Bryan Fuller left production while it was still in its early stages. Now, his replacements Gretchen J Berg and Aaron Harberts have been shown the door.
THR reports that the duo have been ousted by CBS following reports of budgetary issues and, more upsettingly, terrible treatment of their staff.
According to the site’s sources, “Berg and Harberts became increasingly abusive to the Discovery writing staff, with Harberts said to have leaned across the writers room table while shouting an expletive at a member of the show’s staff. Multiple writers are said to have been uncomfortable working on the series and had threatened to file a complaint with human resources or quit the series altogether before informing Kurtzman of the issues surrounding Berg and Harberts. After hearing rumors of HR complaints, Harberts is said to have threatened the staff to keep concerns with the production an internal matter.”
Meanwhile, the second season premiere reportedly went fantastically over budget, meaning that the later episodes would have their budgets adjusted. Production had got as far as episode five and reached a natural hiatus point, so executive producer and genre veteran Alex Kurtzman is stepping in and will “regroup” the writers’ room. The reshuffle is not expected to cause any delays.
CBS made a statement to THR saying “We’ve made some producer changes at Star Trek: Discovery. The series continues under the creative vision and leadership of executive producer and co-creator Alex Kurtzman. Discovery remains on course for season two in 2019 with new and continuing stories that build on its successful premiere season.”
It’s also worth noting that Akiva Goldsman, who stepped into work with Kurtzman last season, did not return this year and was “said to have had a management style and personality that clashed with the writing staff.”
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