As an artist, few issues encourage extra fear than the concept of working laborious on a undertaking of 1’s personal solely to have it taken away by the studio. Within the tv enterprise, this nightmare usually turns into a actuality — although when working with sure present creators proves nightmarish sufficient, one simply understands why a few of these firings passed off.
The controversies surrounding creator firings can sink promising reveals, particularly if the creator’s misdeeds show heinous sufficient to taint their work or if the substitute showrunners fail to match their predecessors’ work in high quality.
But these similar robust selections also can save reveals and hold proficient crews employed with out tying them to poisonous or unreliable showrunners. Meet the creators fired from their very own reveals.
1. Donald Bellisario – NCIS
Donald Bellisario, the creator of hit reveals Magnum, P.I. and Quantum Leap, discovered his most profitable method but with NCIS (co-created with Don McGill). 5 seasons into the 21+ season collection, nevertheless, CBS requested him to step down.
Bellisario got here into battle with actor Mark Harmon over lengthy work hours and artistic variations. The showrunner accused Harmon of leaking details about their conflicts to the press with a purpose to drive the community’s hand. Harmon and different actors say working situations improved after Bellisario’s departure.
When CBS introduced the NCIS spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles in 2011, Bellisario sued the community, arguing his contract gave him “first alternative” for any spinoffs. The courts dismissed the go well with, and CBS later settled with Bellisario.
2. Glenn Gordon Caron – Moonlighting
One of many first profitable TV dramedies, Moonlighting launched audiences to Bruce Willis and reinvigorated Cybill Shepherd’s profession. The progressive detective collection climbed in recognition over its first three seasons solely to plummet in its remaining two, the final of which had no involvement from creator Glenn Gordon Caron.
Caron and Shepherd didn’t get alongside. The creator blamed the actress for most of the present’s episode-delaying manufacturing difficulties. She reportedly gave ABC an ultimatum to decide on between her and Caron. Moonlighting may proceed with out its showrunner, however not with out considered one of its two leads, so Caron left and Shepherd stayed for yet one more disappointing 12 months.
3. Frank Darabont – The Strolling Useless
Frank Darabont, the author/director greatest recognized for Stephen King variations akin to The Shawshank Redemption and The Inexperienced Mile, created the hit AMC adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Strolling Useless comics. The zombie present ran 11 seasons and spawned a number of spinoffs, however Darabont’s participation within the manufacturing solely lasted a few season and a half.
Darabont’s firing in 2011 proved further contentious, with the previous showrunner submitting a breach of contract go well with towards AMC in 2013. The following authorized battle revealed the once-secret causes for the firing: Darabont responded to artistic conflicts with rage and profanity. AMC and Darabont lastly agreed to a settlement in 2021. Up to now, Darabont’s departure stays one of the vital explosive tales of creators fired in Hollywood historical past.
4. Beau DeMayo – X-Males ’97
The general public has but to search out out why Marvel fired Beau DeMayo simply weeks earlier than the premiere of X-Males ’97. This does not appear to be a “artistic variations” problem, given the rapturous crucial reception for the cartoon’s first season and the very fact DeMayo already accomplished scripts for Season 2 with the studio’s approval.
Rumors of DeMayo inflicting battle with different writers date again to his time engaged on the primary two seasons of The Witcher, so comparable incidents presumably occurred on X-Males. The timing of his firing proper earlier than the premiere implies an pressing downside.
Some suspect DeMayo’s OnlyFans account additionally brought on issues with Disney executives, although given his long-time openness about that a part of his profession, it makes little sense for that to solely turn out to be a difficulty after using him for 2 seasons.
5. Bryan Fuller – American Gods, Star Trek: Discovery
If Bryan Fuller creates a TV present, count on considered one of two issues: he manages a short-lived cult favourite like Pushing Daisies or Hannibal, or he goes approach over price range and the studio fires him, as occurred on American Gods and Star Trek: Discovery.
Fuller lasted a full season on American Gods, the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel. Formally, he described his departure as amicable, however reviews of battle with Gaiman over faithfulness to the ebook and with the studio over budgets paint a extra chaotic image. Season 2 went with out an official showrunner resulting from fixed firings and replacements, and the present ended on a whimper with Season 3.
Whereas Fuller labored on American Gods, he additionally did double responsibility attempting to run Star Trek: Discovery. As soon as once more, budgets and schedules exploded beneath his watch, and CBS compelled him off showrunner duties. His co-showrunners, Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts, took over the completion of Season 1. Additionally they bought fired for going over price range in Season 2 and changed by Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise for the remainder of the collection.
6. Dan Harmon – Neighborhood
In Seasons 5 and 6 of the cult basic sitcom Neighborhood, characters confer with the occasions of Season 4 as “the gas-leak 12 months.” In-universe, a gasoline leak explains why the characters and humor felt ever so off; in actual life, Season 4’s failings stem from the firing of collection creator Dan Harmon–one of the vital infamous fired creators profiled right here.
The studio had comprehensible causes for firing Harmon. The showrunner’s alcoholism, procrastination, offended feuds with actor Chevy Chase, and tendency to dare NBC execs to fireside him once they disagreed on the present’s route all performed a job. But Neighborhood with out Harmon was an simple disappointment — and Harmon himself voiced his disappointment on-line in his signature crude style.
Responding to the backlash, the community reinstated Harmon for a shorter and extra manageable Season 5. Chase left the present when Harmon returned. NBC canned Neighborhood after this season, although a shock revival at Yahoo! Display screen pushed the present nearer to its purpose of “six seasons and a film.”
7. Andrew Kreisberg – The Arrowverse
Andrew Kreisberg co-created 4 of the shared universe DC superhero reveals that dominated The CW within the 2010s: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. His involvement in all 4 collection resulted in November 2017.
On the peak of the #MeToo motion, individuals in Hollywood spoke out towards rampant sexual harassment and assault inside the movie and TV business. 15 ladies and 4 males accused Kreisberg of inappropriate habits within the office, leading to a suspension, investigation, and, ultimately, a firing.
For his half, Kreisberg denied the allegations, however his solely look within the headlines since then concerned his arrest for “forcible touching” in March 2023.
8. John Kricfalusi – Ren & Stimpy
In 1991, The Ren & Stimpy Present stood out from different children’ cartoons for its deranged animation and edgy gross-out humor. But the identical qualities that impressed its success additionally led to its creator’s undoing.
John Kricfalusi’s perfectionism relating to the collection’ animation resulted in missed deadlines and fixed delays. As well as, his need to push the envelope of kid-friendliness went far past what Nickelodeon (or actually anybody else) would enable — individuals cite the violent banned episode “Man’s Greatest Pal” as a breaking level.
This mixture of unhealthy administration and content material disputes resulted in Kricfalusi’s firing. Bob Camp took over Ren & Stimpy on the new Video games Animation studio, whereas Stimpy voice actor Billy West changed Kricfalusi as Ren’s voice. Followers stood divided over the firing on the time, however Kricfalusi’s subsequent alleged crimes make Nickelodeon’s resolution look sensible on reflection.
9. Skyler Web page – Clarence
Skyler Web page labored as a storyboard artist on Journey Time earlier than creating his personal Cartoon Community collection, Clarence. Simply months after Clarence‘s premiere in 2014, one other Journey Time storyboarder, Emily Partridge, posted on Twitter about Web page assaulting her.
Others within the animation business corroborated tales of Web page groping ladies, leading to his firing. Earlier than the firing, the studio had already decreased Web page’s showrunner duties resulting from difficulties with psychological sickness. After the firing, Web page went into hospital therapy for psychotic episodes.
Clarence continued with out Web page’s involvement and with none notable modifications in fashion or high quality. Spencer Rothbell, who already dealt with a lot of the present’s writing, took over as showrunner and because the voice of the title character.
10. Van Partible – Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo creator Van Partible joins Dan Harmon on the brief checklist of fired creators to get rehired after getting fired, although the explanations for Partible’s firing seem a lot much less dramatic than Harmon’s.
Warner Bros. bought Turner Leisure, the proprietor of Cartoon Community, shortly after Johnny Bravo‘s first season. The brand new possession retooled the whole collection for its second and third seasons. Kirk Tingblad took over the present, redesigning the characters and including new ones.
Partible claims the community advised him he lacked managerial abilities to deal with the present’s continuation. A couple of years later, after Partible labored up the braveness to pitch a brand new collection to Cartoon Community, they invited him again to run Johnny Bravo Season 4. Each the Partible and Tingblad eras have followers, with those that take pleasure in one model of the present usually not liking the opposite.
11. Theresa Rebeck – Smash
Theresa Rebeck provides one rationalization for her firing from the Broadway-centric NBC drama Smash on the finish of its first season. The writers who labored beneath her paint a distinct image. Each accounts would possibly supply up some reality behind considered one of TV’s notorious sinking ships.
Rebeck describes her expertise as considered one of sexism, with male execs punishing her out of discomfort along with her take-charge management fashion. These execs changed her with a person, Joshua Safran, who had much less expertise with TV writing and 0 expertise within the theater, leading to a awful Season 2 and no Season 3.
Some reviews from the present’s crew do not precisely battle with Rebeck’s claims of punishment for being a girlboss, however allege the true downside was that she was a foul boss. The manufacturing forgoed a standard writers’ room in favor of Rebeck individually rewriting everybody else’s scripts, and a few declare Rebeck ran the present as a “dictatorship.”
12. Justin Roiland – Rick and Morty, Photo voltaic Opposites
Justin Roiland’s artistic involvement with Rick and Morty, the Grownup Swim present he co-created with Dan Harmon, shrank between Season 1 and his final firing in Season 6. He stopped exhibiting as much as the writers’ room in the course of Season 3 after a number of episodes of unprofessional habits and a rising distance from Harmon’s extra structured writing fashion.
For the following three seasons, Roiland’s involvement with Rick and Morty primarily consisted of voicing the title characters. He co-created one other sci-fi cartoon, Photo voltaic Opposites, for Hulu, however with minimal lively artistic participation past voice appearing — most of the present’s artistic employees by no means even met Roiland.
Then got here the arrest for home battery and false imprisonment (fees since dismissed for inadequate proof), and the receipts of lewd messages Roiland despatched to minors over time. Grownup Swim and Hulu each severed ties with Roiland, recasting his characters for Rick and Morty Season 7 and Photo voltaic Opposites Season 4, respectively.
13. Chris Savino – The Loud Home
Chris Savino made his title in animation changing showrunners who voluntarily left their ongoing collection. He took over Dexter’s Laboratory from Genndy Tartakovsky and The Powerpuff Women from Craig McCracken. He’d later discover himself changed on his personal creation, The Loud Home, however not as a result of he give up.
In October 2017, a dozen ladies introduced forth accounts of Savino sexually harassing them and threatening to blacklist those that did not go together with his advances. Rumors about Savino’s unhealthy habits circulated for at the least a decade earlier than, however it took the urgency of the #MeToo motion to spark an investigation and subsequent firing from Nickelodeon.
14. Dan Schneider – Henry Hazard
Viewers of the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Darkish Facet of Youngsters TV know most of the methods producer Dan Schneider mistreated the kid stars on his standard Nickelodeon sitcoms. Zillennials can now not look again on the likes of The Amanda Present, Drake and Josh, and iCarly with the identical nostalgia they’d earlier than this information.
Suspicions about Schneider, based mostly on uncomfortable content material on his Twitter account and within the reveals themselves, unfold on-line for years earlier than Nickelodeon fired him in 2018. Although the community’s investigation didn’t discover proof of sexual misconduct, it discovered far too many examples of Schneider verbally abusing workers.
Henry Hazard, which Schneider co-created with Dana Olsen, was the one Schneider collection nonetheless in lively manufacturing on the time. The present continued with out the involvement of its disgraced co-creator.
15. Amy Seimetz – The Idol
Amy Seimetz may not technically rely as a “creator” of The Idol, however the director’s firing deserves point out right here each for a way large a job she had within the authentic model of the HBO collection and the way disastrous it turned out with out her.
The filmmaker, recognized for co-creating The Girlfriend Expertise and directing the film She Dies Tomorrow, signed on to direct each single episode of The Idol. She had shot roughly 80% of the collection when Sam Levinson determined to take over as director and retool the entire thing. Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, one of many present’s co-creators and lead actors, allegedly took problem with the girl director centering a “feminine perspective.”
That “feminine perspective” sounds way more interesting than the misogyny of the model of The Idol that made it to air. Considered one of HBO’s worst-reviewed dramas ever, The Idol lasted one five-episode season earlier than swift cancellation.
16. Kurt Sutter – Mayans M.C.
Kurt Sutter created the motorbike gang drama Sons of Anarchy, which lasted seven seasons and broke scores information for FX. Not lengthy after Sons of Anarchy concluded, the community put Sutter to work on growing a by-product collection, Mayans M.C., in collaboration with former gang member Elgin James.
Two seasons into the spinoff, the community put Sutter out of labor in response to many complaints about his unprofessional habits. These issues went approach again, to the purpose that Sutter had older letters of grievance from the Sons of Anarchy period framed in his workplace.
Because the leisure panorama strived in the direction of better accountability within the post-Weinstein period, being a self-described “abrasive d-ck” warranted extra severe penalties. The extra accountable James dealt with showrunning duties for Mayans‘ remaining three seasons.
17. Julia Vickerman – Twelve Perpetually
Many of the firings on this checklist went very public in a short time. In distinction, the firing of Julia Vickerman on Twelve Perpetually proceeded beneath hush-hush circumstances. “Hush-hush” may additionally describe Netflix’s advertising and marketing for the animated collection, which by no means stood an opportunity at a second season.
Court docket paperwork reveal that three of Vickerman’s workers accused her of sexually harassing them whereas drunk at after-work events. Although not reported on by information shops on the time, these paperwork are accessible on-line and have become well-known after an older Tumblr submit of Vickerman’s, by which the cartoonist talked about stalking a teenage boy, went viral on Twitter.
Following Vickerman’s firing, nobody formally took over as showrunner, although producer Shadi Petosky managed to finish the primary season. The closure of Petosky’s animation studio Puny Leisure, within the aftermath of allegations towards co-founder Chris Hardwick, killed any probability of a second season.
18. (Presumably) Joss Whedon – The Nevers
Technically, Joss Whedon by no means claimed HBO fired him from the steampunk superhero present The Nevers. Nonetheless, contemplating the circumstances, many suspect the Buffy and Firefly creator solely stepped down from showrunner duties as a result of not doing so would lead to a extra public firing.
On the time, Whedon confronted an investigation from HBO’s dad or mum firm, Warner Bros., over his therapy of actor Ray Fisher on the set of Justice League. Fisher publicly accused Whedon of racist habits, and the following controversy known as consideration to different allegations of misconduct from previous Whedon productions, most notably firing Charisma Carpenter from Angel resulting from her being pregnant.
Whedon left The Nevers midway by means of its first season, and Philippa Goslett took over as showrunner throughout a manufacturing hiatus. Solely Whedon’s episodes aired on HBO, with Goslett’s remaining episodes bought to Tubi.