Beleaguered ABC drama Commander In Chief has even more to worry about--Stephen Bochco might leave the show. Broadcast & Cable reports the veteran showrunner, who was brought in to replace show creator Rod Lurie, is currently away from the show filming his new pilot, Hollis and Rea, and may not be returning. In the interim, executive-producer Dee Johnson is taking the helm.
The magazine says Bochco is unhappy with the network's creative involvement in the show. They quote a source as saying, "Bochco just wasn't about to take notes from them... ABC is very involved, [their people] are smart, their notes are good, but under the day-to-day pressure of a series, it can be a lot."
ABC denies they clashed with Bochco over script notes, saying that the plan for Johnson to replace Bochco had been in place already. The network also says that Rod Lurie will not be returning to the series in any capacity.
Bochco replaced Lurie in January, when ABC became concerned about scripts being late and production running behind schedule. The series was kept off the air for several weeks, which hurt its ratings momentum.
Commander In Chief tells the story of the first female US president. Series star Geena Davis won a best actress Golden Globe for her portrayal of President Mackenzie Allen.
Chief premiered in September, coming in first in its time slot with 16 million viewers. When production problems kept it irregular on the schedule, ratings sank against Fox's time-slot competitor House. The show is set to return to the schedule April 18.
Comments (7)
Good, then he can get back to writing his novels.
I had been enjoying the show until Stephen Bochco took over the reins. I can't imagine it will survive for much longer.
To all the "do not care" folks, CIC has a large number of "do care" folks and if ABC plays it's cards right, CIC will be COMMANDER once again. If AB is foolish enough to let CIC go, I hope a smart network like CBS will pick it up. GO COMMANDER IN CHIEF! WE LOVE YOU!
I'm so there with you... such a good premise, such a colossal dropping of the ball. Maybe Bochco could have turned things around, but I (along with a bunch of other people apparently)stopped watching awhile ago, so who cares?
Another entry for Stephen Bochco's Hall of Failures.
Last gasp.....
Eh. The show's not that great anyway. This probably means it's not coming back next year.