Bryan Fuller Stepping Back From Showrunner Role on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

[Shalashaska]

He's still connected as one of the executive producers on the show, he'll be in the studio and on the phone to everyone working on it still, and the scripts are written, the arc is nailed down. It's still his work and they can't do a regime change now without pushing the series back another year.

There are too many commitments and too much money wrapped up in it to do anything remotely like that. Discovery is going ahead as it was planned, he'll just not physically be there for every second of it, as if that was all it ever depended on.

Seriously, are you implying everyone else working on it the show is going to become a crayon eating moron the moment he leaves the room? if so what confidence did you ever have in them working on it in the first place?

Exactly.

And already, many of these writers including Berg and Harberts are more known to the fans and the public than Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr or Ronald D. Moore, hell, even Gene Roddenberry ever were before joining Trek.

The show will be fine. By now, they likely have most of if not all of the scripts written and ready to go into production. We'll see Fuller's fingerprints all over the first season and likely beyond.

 

[Jedman67]

Seriously, are you implying everyone else working on it the show is going to become a crayon eating moron the moment he leaves the room? if so what confidence did you ever have in them working on it in the first place?

The world is ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wayoung]

I'm assuming you're replying to me because I quoted your post but I'm not sure.

He's still connected as one of the executive producers on the show, he'll be in the studio and on the phone to everyone working on it still, and the scripts are written, the arc is nailed down. It's still his work and they can't do a regime change now without pushing the series back another year.

There are too many commitments and too much money wrapped up in it to do anything remotely like that. Discovery is going ahead as it was planned, he'll just not physically be there for every second of it, as if that was all it ever depended on.

No one outside of those actually working on the show know for sure what level his involvement will be. I can't say your wrong. Maybe he will be that involved. I don't believe it based on every other time this has ever happened and this exact same press release has been issued, but, sure, I hope you're right.

Seriously, are you implying everyone else working on it the show is going to become a crayon eating moron the moment he leaves the room? if so what confidence did you ever have in them working on it in the first place?

Nope. Not implying that. Again, if you're replying to me since I quoted you (and I'm not sure if you are so feel free to correct me if I'm misinterpreting) my disappointment is that it won't be a Fuller Star Trek show, not in the current production team. Outside of Goldsmith anyway but his job is pretty nebulous and he isn't replacing Fuller, so I'm not overly concerned about him.

The amount of money CBS is throwing at this means they have a ton of faith in it. Which is an excellent sign that the final product will be a quality show. They wouldn't be spending this kind of money if they didn't think they had a real quality hit on their hands. So I'm still optimistic for the show, but I'm also disappointed that its not Fuller's show, and not as excited for it because of this.

 

[Kemaiku]

Yup, he has most of the episodes written and is likely still on the writing staff for polishing the in-progress final 7? is it episodes that are outlined (the basic episode summary and important scenes).

The vast majority of the show is pinned down, they just need to film it and add post production details. That's the longer and more difficult portion that all the technical staff and cast will take from here.

His work on the project is largely done and there isn't much point him turning up to stand around and do nothing all day. He has other shows to work on.

 

[Ometiklan]

My thoughts on this:
- Disappointed that Fuller won't be full-time show runner
- Feel ok that his hand-picked writer/producers are now co-show-running; I think this along with the press release (that normally can't be trusted farther than you can throw it) show that CBS does still like Fuller's direction and that it will be maintained
- Collider's editor's tweet doesn't mean much to me: it seems like the editor is simply expressing "concern" and not any actual knowledge:

The editor of Collider.com tweeted...
my biggest concern about @BryanFuller leaving new STAR TREK show is he was pushed out for what he wanted to do..

- So much of the show is already in the bag (cast minus the lead, 5 or so scripts, story arc) plus it is already profitable, that there is no way that it doesn't make it to air
- Neutral on Akiva Goldsmith; like Alex Kurtzman, I look at his involvement more in terms of his TV show production experience (Fringe: good) as opposed to his movie experience (Batman and Robin: bad; though he also has good stuff there)

- My hopes are that 1) this means that the show won't be delayed any more (though I would always be willing to give it the time it needs to be good/great), and 2) maybe season 2 onward will stick with 13 episodes rather than 10 - I always felt the 10 the Fuller was pushing for was due to his schedule and I think CBS would rather have 3+ months of weekly episodes than 2+ months (for subscription purposes)

 

[BillJ]

How about we don't worry about the "special snowflake brigade" or the "old white guys" brigade? How about just tell awesome stories - is that too much to ask? Focus on that and the end product will speak for itself.

I was never worried about the "special snowflake" brigade. But Star Trek has to evolve with the rest of TV or it won't be a viable franchise in the near future. That means embracing the diversity of society.

 

[fireproof78]

Hopefully this means that Abrams can step in and help out Kurtzman and give it the right feel.

 

[milo bloom]

Logically I should understand Fuller having prior commitments and wanting to give them their due, but the big reason for the excitement of this show was to have Fuller in charge. He's wanted it for years and the fans have asked for him to do it for years.

It's really hard to be anything but worried for the show, no matter who's left in the writing room. No, they don't become crayon eating morons as somebody just said, but just like the starships in our show, who ever is in the captain's chair sets the tone for the crew and its mission.

I was excited for something amazing, now I'm just hoping for something "good".

 

[Mudd]

Hopefully this means that Abrams can step in and help out Kurtzman and give it the right feel.

One can only hope.

 

[Kemaiku]

I was excited for something amazing.

Our expectations were never relevant to the equation, this change of scheduling for the staff changes nothing about that. They're producing a show for a different generation of people and a new audience.

 

[milo bloom]

Our expectations were never relevant to the equation, this change of scheduling for the staff changes nothing about that. They're producing a show for a different generation of people and a new audience.

While I generally understand and accept the concept of creators not bowing to audience demands, the studio specifically picked Fuller because of his history with Trek. They had to have been aware of the audience expectation when making that particular decision. A change in that equation means expectations are changed and I hope the studio is ready for that.

 

[Kemaiku]

We're such a small part of it, it's more a pat on the head for sticking around. The other 98% of the people watching are who they want.

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

However you look at it, the stepping-down (sacking?) of a (CBS All Access') lead show's creator and showrunner a month before the start of filming is bad PR. Even if it won't affect the creative process of said show at all.

CBS needs to announce some casting news of the (supposedly) almost finished casting to turn things around again.

 

[fireproof78]

While I generally understand and accept the concept of creators not bowing to audience demands, the studio specifically picked Fuller because of his history with Trek. They had to have been aware of the audience expectation when making that particular decision. A change in that equation means expectations are changed and I hope the studio is ready for that.

The studio will never be ready for that. It is not part of their equations or any of their metrics. Studios work with things that they can quantify, and identify, and consumer sentiment is not one of those things.

It isn't about bowing to audience expectations but them trying to market a show based upon what is currently successful. Fuller, regardless of his history with Trek, is a very successful TV producer and is in high demand right now. That he had worked on Trek in the past may have been a plus to some, but wasn't likely a determining factor in his hiring.

The studio will do what they want, and don't feel like they owe the fans anything.

 

[ISS Enterprise]

This is not good period. Series is delayed NO cast yet or even rumors now this......

Fuller wasn't too busy weeks ago to do the series hmmm. Just hoping we get a series n it's quality at this point

 

[BillJ]

CBS needs to announce some casting news of the (supposedly) almost finished casting to turn things around again.

We'll flog this like a dead horse for a few days until the next bit of info trickles out. By the time May rolls around, this won't be seen as important.

 

[Ryann866]

Creatively, Trek in all of it’s previous incarnations, has been driven by the artistic vision of only one or two people. The times are a changing…

TOS and TNG were’s Gene’s. He initiated the core idea and was the driving creative force (for good or bad) behind the production and insured the artistic integrity of the product he wanted to produce. (Not discounting Coon, Fontana, Gerrold, etc)

Berman and Piller continued and evolved that same foundation from TNG through Enterprise out of respect for the original idea. Harve Bennett, Nick Meyer, and Nimoy were the creative powers of the film franchise, and most recently, JJ was able to produce his vision of what Trek is with minimal interference from above, because, well… he’s JJ.

Read any of the behind the scenes accounts and you’ll find that, while they’re were plenty of battles with the studio over a wide variety of things, creatively, the content of the show and the integrity of canon was the responsibility of those individual creators.

Hollywood doesn’t work like that anymore.

Now… the “brand” is just that, a brand… It is an asset, foremost. Like Diet Coke.

Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman (talented pros as they may be) are all hired guns, employed by CBS to maintain their valuable brand. Trek is not their idea, nor is it their only creative enterprise (pun intended). Everything they get to do creatively will be influenced by focus group testing, audience algorithm data, viewership models and 20+ network executives eager to keep their jobs. Kurtzman and Goldsman are both working on a laundry list of other projects at the same time (ala Simon Kinberg)… so Trek is just another notch in their bedpost.

Furthering the brand will be the driving force on Discovery, no doubt. That means what’s “cool” to those commenting on Snapchat will take priority over original storytelling. Cynical, perhaps, but the patterns are there if you want to see them.

I had hopes for Fuller, because he seemingly is a huge fan with reverence for what has come before and would provide the tug-of-war needed because of his devotion. The remaining team has no history or track record of doing that - nor wanting to.

The current trend in Hollywood is to get a bunch of genre creatives who have made tons of money for the studio and get them to play rough in other people’s sandboxes. Sometimes you get brilliance like Game of Thrones… most of the time you get far, far less.

 

[jamestyler]

With some of the negativity, particularly the "everything is doomed!" themed stuff, I'm so very thankful there wasn't this type of access to information back in 1986.

 

[BillJ]

Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman (talented pros as they may be) are all hired guns, employed by CBS to maintain their valuable brand.

So was many of the people brought in over the years. There have been many showrunners over the years, Fuller is just one of many. Kurtzman is the man in charge of it all, it is his company producing the show.

Discovery will be fine.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I didn't say the show is troubled, I said everytime a show runner is fired they put out this exact same press release for a few reasons, one of which is to keep people from thinking the show is troubled.

That's a not entirely accurate generalization through. It really isn't uncommon for a show to change showrunners during its run, but it does makes good gossip these days, especially if it's a show that is fairly new or is even still in pre-production. Otherwise, it happens fairly quietly, often, and without much press as was the case with The Simpsons, Cheers, Friends, the various procedural dramas, etc.

As I said, I hope Fuller is still involved ij the show. But I don't believe it. Press releases like this are PR BS. They all day the exact same thing when a show runner is let go.

Usually, it's more of a case that some people assume the worse when there's a change of showrunners, when it's really something that happens far more often than not. As with the case of previous Trek shows, it's very likely that other producers will be coming and going as this newest one progresses, with some of the initial ones stepping down into more supervisory or consultant roles.