Star Trek: Discovery: Bryan Fuller to Step Down as Showrunner

Star Trek: Discovery is boldly moving forward without Bryan Fuller at the helm.

TVLine has confirmed that Fuller, who is exec-producing the CBS All Access reboot, will no longer serve as showrunner.

Our sister site Variety first reported the news.

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While Fuller will still break stories, and his vision will still guide the series as it moves forward, EPs Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg will take over showrunning duties. In addition, Akiva Goldsman (Fringe) reportedly will join the series in a high level role.

After the news broke, Fuller took to Twitter to give Harberts and Berg his blessing:

The move will likely be received harshly among Trekkies, many of whom viewed Fuller — whose history with the franchise dates back two decades to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — as the quintessential choice to shepherd the latest incarnation.

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Per Variety, Fuller and CBS Television Studios, which produces the series, had experienced some tension regarding the progress of production while Fuller also handles Starz’s American Gods and NBC’s Amazing Stories reboot.

“We are extremely happy with the creative direction of Star Trek: Discovery and the strong foundation that Bryan Fuller has helped us create for the series,” CBS TV said via statement. “Due to Bryan’s other projects, he is no longer able to oversee the day-to-day of Star Trek, but he remains an executive producer, and will continue to map out the story arc for the entire season. Alex Kurtzman, co-creator and executive producer, along with Fuller’s producing partners and longtime collaborators, Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, will also continue to oversee the show with the existing writing and producing team. Bryan is a brilliant creative talent and passionate Star Trek fan, who has helped us chart an exciting course for the series. We are all committed to seeing this vision through and look forward to premiering Star Trek: Discovery this coming May 2017.”

Fuller’s change in status was perhaps foreshadowed last month when CBS announced that the reboot— initially set to bow in January CBS before moving exclusively to CBS All Access. — was being delayed until May due to the project’s huge production demands. In a statement at the time, Fuller and fellow EP Alex Kurtzman said, “Bringing Star Trek back to television carries a responsibility and mission: to connect fans and newcomers alike to the series that has fed our imaginations since childhood. We aim to dream big and deliver, and that means making sure the demands of physical and post-production for a show that takes place entirely in space, and the need to meet an air date, don’t result in compromised quality. Before heading into production, we evaluated these realities with our partners at CBS and they agreed: Star Trek deserves the very best, and these extra few months will help us achieve a vision we can all be proud of.”

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