Star Trek: Discovery showrunners ousted for allegedly abusive behavior in the writers' room

The Hollywood Reporter

Co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman will take over as showrunner on the CBS All Access series, replacing Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg, who were fired for leadership and operational issues -- not for creative reasons. The pair -- who were ousted after nearly completing five Season 2 episodes -- "became increasingly abusive" to their writing staff, according to The Hollywood Reporter. They were also responsible for a Season 2 premiere budget that "ballooned" at the expense of the rest of the season. This is the second Discovery showrunner change after co-creator Bryan Fuller was dismissed after clashing with CBS over the Star Trek series' concept. Detailing the allegedly abusive behavior, The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg reports that Harberts is "said to have leaned across the writers' room table while shouting an expletive at a member of the show's 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. After hearing rumors of HR complaints, Harberts is said to have threatened the staff to keep concerns with the production an internal matter."