‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Showrunners Exit

It looks like Star Trek: Discovery will have some major behind-the-scenes changes going into its second season.

Discovery‘s executive producers and showrunners, Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg, will be officially exiting the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Co-creator and fellow executive producer Alex Kurtzman will take over as showrunner.

Coverage of the exit claims that the decision was “for leadership and operational issues”. According to THR’s sources, the budget for the CBS All Access series had ballooned, and Berg and Harberts had become “increasingly abusive” and hostile to the show’s writing 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.” The report reads. “After hearing rumors of HR complaints, Harberts is said to have threatened the staff to keep concerns with the production an internal matter.”

The first five episodes of Discovery‘s second season are near completion, and Kurtzman will presumably take over from episode six onward. Berg and Harberts are expected to be credited for the episodes they worked on.

“We’ve made some producer changes at Star Trek: Discovery,” a CBS Television Studios spokesperson said in a statement. “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 will be interesting to see exactly what this means for Discovery, especially considering the developments that were made in the show’s season one finale. Executive producer Akiva Goldsman will reportedly be leaving the series as well, for “a management style and personality that clashed with the writing staff”.

“I think one of the biggest things it’s going to allow us to do is start to develop how Discovery fits into canon,” Harberts said in an interview earlier this year. “One of the big things that’s been polarizing for fans is, ‘We’ve never heard about Discovery! How does it fit? She’s related to Spock?’ All those things. And what it’ll allow us to do is hit that straight-on. We see it as an exciting opportunity to say, ‘This is exactly how Discovery fits into the timeline. This is exactly how we can reconcile the choices we have made.’ Because at this period in time, the Discovery and the Enterprise are the crown jewels in the fleet, so they should be face-to-face.”

What do you think of this Star Trek: Discovery departure? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Star Trek: Discovery is expected to return sometime in 2019.