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It’s likely that if your favorite show felt different over the years, a showrunner shift would happen at some point behind the scenes.
Law and Order: Organized Crime trying to confirm it himself as a successful outcome of Law and Order: SVU but instead has continued to make headlines for a number of show runners leaving the series. The police procedural, which premiered in 2021 on NBC, stars Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler, reprising his role from SVU.
By the time the show was renewed for a fifth season – and moved to Peacock – it had gone through seven showrunner changes. No official statement has been made about the many changes in the writers’ room.
Meanwhile, The Handmaid’s Tale became a household name with Bruce Miller at the helm. The popular series then faced a revival right before its sixth and final season when Miller resigned as a show runner. He remained a writer and executive producer but transferred his duties to executive producers Eric Tuchman a Yahlin Chang.
Violent drama! Not everyone gets along at work, but when it comes to television, some of the behind-the-scenes drama turns into next-level conflict. Us Weekly has collected just a few of the scandalous troubles that happened off camera that ended up changing things on camera. When Katherine Heigl left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010, she said (…)
“We’re ending our show on our own creative terms,” he told sight360 Entertainment Weekly in 2022 before his departure. “Do I know what happens in season 6? Yes, I thought about the things that happen in season 6 for a while.”
Keep scrolling for more shows with significant showrunner changes:
‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’
When Stabler got his own show in 2020, Matt Olmstead take on the role of show runner but eventually stepped down later that year. He was replaced by Ilene Chaikenwho stayed on the show for one season before Barry O’Brien he took over. Bryan Goluboff he became showrunner for season 3 but left after three months. He was replaced by Sean Jablonskiwho left due to “creative differences” and David Graziano take over for the final episodes of the season. After Law and Order: Organized Crime renewed for a fourth season, John Shiban he was brought on as the newest show runner but didn’t stick around and Olmstead was brought back to finish the scripts as an executive producer.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
When the show was first in development, Chaiken was supposed to run the show but Showtime passed on the pilot. Miller became the official showrunner after Hulu picked up the series and remained at the helm until the final season. Miller resigned in order to focus on adapt The Testaments and Tuchman and Chang were named co-showrunners for the sixth and final season.
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
After Netflix announced a reimagined live-action remake Avatarcreators Michael Dante DiMartino a Bryan Konietzko named as show runners. They left the series in 2020 due to creative differences and Albert Kim he came on board instead. Kim resigned after the show was renewed and Christine Boylan a Jabbar Raisani became showrunners for the second and third seasons.
‘Call me Kat’
The Fox comedy, which starred Mayim Bialikhire Darlene Hunt as showrunner, which lasted for one season until Alyssa Neubauer he took over. Jim Patterson a Maria Ferrari were announced as the new show runners for the third season, which turned out to be the show’s last.
‘Designated Survivor’
Amy B. Harris was originally to be showrunner in 2016 but subsequently stepped down Designated Survivor officially raised. Jon Harmon Feldman replaced Harris until Jeff Melvoin he came on to oversee the second half of the first season. From there, writer Keith Eisner took over until the show was canceled on ABC. Netflix revived the series, who prepared the way for Neal Baer to be named show runner.
‘The Walking Dead’
The post-apocalyptic series premiered in 2010 with Frank Darabont at the helm. He left after one term and Glen Mazzara take over until season 3. Scott M. Gimple was promoted to show runner for four seasons until he became the Chief Content Officer of the whole Walking Dead franchise a Angela Kang his place in the writers’ room.
‘The West Wing’
The political series was created by Aaron Sorkin in 1999 and stayed with the show until the fifth season. After his departure, John Wells remained the sole executive producer and showrunner until the 2006 series finale.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Consider how long Grey’s Anatomy has been on the airit makes sense that there have been some changes behind the scenes. Shonda Rhimes was the original show runner for five seasons until Krista Vernoff he joined her at the helm. One season later, Rhimes began working side by side Tony Phelan a Joan Rater and the pair remained at the helm when Rhimes stepped down to focus on other projects. From seasons 11 to 13, Stacy McKee a William Harper were the runners before Mckee left and Vernoff returned. After that Vernoff was the sole showrunner from seasons 16 to 19 And Marinis he took over.
‘Supernatural’
Before Supernatural was picked up by The CW, creator Eric Kripke has been developing the show for almost 10 years. He remained as the show runner until season 6, and then Sera Gamble he took over. Jeremy Carver was the sole runner from seasons 8 to 11 before turning over control to Robert Singer a Andrew Dabb for the rest of its run.
‘Gilmore Girls’
Amy Sherman-Palladino a Daniel Palladino were in charge until failed contract negotiations caused them to leave after six seasons. David Rosenthal he took over for the seventh and final season but ultimately it wasn’t the same. Sherman-Palladino eventually returned for the four-part miniseries revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
‘The Office’
Greg Daniels developed the show and served as show runner for the first four seasons before leaving for Parks and Recreation. Paul Lieberstein a Jennifer Celotta were named showrunners for season 5 but Celotta left the series one season later. Lieberstein stayed on for the following two seasons and then briefly left to work on potential spin-offs. Daniels returned as the show runner for the ninth and final season.
‘community’
After basing the script on his experiences, Dan Harmon was the show runner for four seasons. His place was briefly taken by writers David Guarascio a Moses Port before returning a year later.
‘Seinfeld’
Created by Jerry Seinfeld a Larry DavidSeinfeld was run by David for seven seasons. His departure led to Seinfeld – who also starred on the show – to take over for another two years until the 1998 series finale.
‘Dawson’s Creek’
Kevin Williamson left after the first season to focus on another show, which meant Alex Gansa he became the new show runner. The shutdown of production – due to the cast’s frustration with the storylines – led to Gansa being replaced Greg Berlanti in season 3.
