‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Changes Showrunners Again With Alex Kurtzman Taking Over

At this point, why would anyone want to be showrunner of “Star Trek: Discovery?” The series, which has been the crown jewel of CBS All Access since its debut last year, has seen more changes in leadership over the course of a year and change than most series see in their entire runs. The Hollywood Reporter is now confirming that deep into production of season 2 of the sci-fi series, CBS has pulled the plug on showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts and replaced the duo with producer Alex Kurtzman.

“We’ve made some producer changes at ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’ 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,” CBS Television Studios said in a statement.

If you’re a “Star Trek” fan, the name Alex Kurtzman will either delight or horrify you. The writer-producer has been an integral part of ‘Discovery,’ since its inception, credited as a creator of the series, and also the writer and director of the series premiere. He also has a long history with the franchise, as the writer of the 2009 reboot film and its controversial sequel, “Star Trek Into Darkness.” ‘Trek’ fans are split over Kurtzman, with some loving his more modern take on the series, while others feel that it’s not “Star Trek” enough.

As mentioned above, this marks the second change of leadership in a year for the series, which famously saw its series premiere pushed back significantly after the first showrunner, Bryan Fuller, left the production amid “creative differences.” He was replaced by Berg and Harberts, but as we know now, that was only temporary, as the duo finished season 1, and according to THR, were fired after only 5 produced episodes of season 2.

THR also reports that the reasons for the change weren’t due to creative issues, as with Fuller. Instead, it was a clash of management styles, with the producing duo not working well with the writers’ room. The report also says that Akiva Goldsman, who produced the series and directed the season finale, has been let go from his duties, as well.

For a series that’s already divisive among the fandom, it’ll be interesting to see how Kurtzman steers the ship. His track record suggests that ‘Discovery’ isn’t going to revert back to classic “Star Trek” storytelling, but either way, changes are afoot for the popular series. Let’s just hope that Kurtzman sticks around.