Chances are, if your favorite show felt different over the years, at some point there was a showrunner change behind the scenes.
Law & Order: Organized Crime tried to solidify itself as a successful spin-off of Law & Order: SVU but instead, it has continued to make headlines for numerous showrunners 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 its fifth season and moved to Peacock, it had gone through seven showrunner changes. No official statement was made regarding the numerous exchanges in the writers’ room.
Meanwhile, The Handmaid’s Tale became a household name with Bruce Miller ate the rudder. The hit series then faced a shake-up just before its sixth and final season when Miller stepped down as showrunner. He remained writer and executive producer, but handed over his duties to the executive producers. Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang.
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“We’re finishing our show on our own creative terms,” he said. Entertainment Weekly in 2022 before his departure. “Do I know what happens in season 6? Yeah, I thought about the things that happen in season 6 for a while.”
Keep scrolling to see more shows with major showrunner changes:
‘Fire country’
show runner Aunt Napolitano He left Fire Country after four seasons on the show.
‘Twisted metal’
David Reed will take over as showrunner in season 3, replacing Michael Jonathan Smithwho directed the series during its first two seasons.
‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’
When Stabler had his own show in 2020, Matt Olmsted he took on the role of showrunner, but eventually resigned later that year. It was replaced by Ilene Chaikenwho stayed on the show for one season before Barry O’Brien took control. Bryan Goluboff He became the showrunner for season 3 but left after three months. It was replaced by Sean Jablonskiwho left due to “creative differences” and David Graciano took over the final episodes of the season. After Law & Order: Organized Crime was renewed for a fourth season, Juan Shiban was hired as the newest showrunner, but did not stay and Olmstead returned to finish the scripts as executive producer.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
When the show was first in development, Chaiken was set to direct the show, but Showtime turned down the pilot. Miller became the official showrunner once Hulu picked up the series and remained at the helm until the final season. Miller resigned to focus on adaptation The wills 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 of Avatarcreators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko were named showrunners. They left the series in 2020 due to creative differences and Alberto Kim came aboard in his place. Kim resigned after the show was renewed and Cristina Boylan and Jabbar Raisani they became showrunners for the second and third seasons.
‘Call me cat’
The Fox comedy, starring Mayim Bialikcontracted Darlene hunt as showrunner, which lasted one season until Alissa Neubauer took control. Jim Patterson and Maria Ferrari were announced as the new showrunners for the third season, which turned out to be the show’s last.
‘Designated survivor’
Amy B. Harris He was originally going to be the showrunner in 2016, but resigned after Designated survivor was officially picked up. Jon Harmon Feldman replaced Harris until Jeff Melvoin He went on to oversee the second half of the first season. From there, writer Keith Eisner he took over until the show was canceled at ABC. Netflix revived the series, which paved the way for Neal Baer be named showrunner.
‘The Living Dead’
The post-apocalyptic series premiered in 2010 with Frank Darabont ate the rudder. He left after one season and Glen Mazzara took over until season 3. Scott Gimple He was promoted to showrunner for four seasons until he became content director for the entire walking Dead franchise and Angela Kang replaced him in the writers’ room.
‘West Wing’
The political series was created by Aaron Sorkin in 1999 and remained on the show until the fifth season. After his departure, John Wells He remained the sole executive producer and showrunner until the 2006 series finale.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’
considering how long Grey’s Anatomy has been on air, it makes sense that there have been some changes behind the scenes. Shonda Rhimes He was the original showrunner for five seasons until Krista Vernon He joined her at the helm. A season later, Rhimes had begun working alongside Tony Phelan and Joan Qualifier and the pair remained in charge when Rhimes stepped down to focus on other projects. From seasons 11 to 13, Stacy McKee and William Harper were the showrunners before Mckee left and Vernoff returned. Vernoff was subsequently the sole showrunner from seasons 16 to 19 until Meg Marinis took control.
‘Supernatural’
Before Supernatural was picked up by The CW, creator Eric Kripke had been developing the program for almost 10 years. He remained as showrunner until season 6, which is when Sera Gamble took control. Jeremy Carver He was the sole showrunner for seasons 8 to 11 before relinquishing control Roberto Cantante and andres dabb for the rest of his journey.
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‘Gilmore Girls’
Amy Sherman Palladino and Daniel Palladino They were in charge until failed contract negotiations forced them to leave after six seasons. David Rosenthal took over for the seventh and final season, but in the end 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 showrunner for the first four seasons before leaving to Parks and Recreation. Paul Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta They were named showrunners for season 5, but Celotta left the series a season later. Lieberstein stayed on for the next two seasons and then left briefly to work on a possible spin-off. Daniels returned as showrunner for the ninth and final season.
‘Community’
After basing the script on his experiences, So armon He was the showrunner for four seasons. He was briefly replaced by writers. David Guarascio and Port of Moses before returning a year later.
‘Seinfeld’
Created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry DavidSeinfeld was directed by David for seven seasons. His departure caused Seinfeld – who also starred in the show – will take over for two more years until the end of the 1998 series.
‘Dawson’s Creek’
Kevin Williamson He left after the first season to focus on another show, which meant Alex Gansa became the new showrunner. A production shutdown, due to the cast’s frustration with the plot, led to Gansa being replaced by Greg Berlanti in season 3.