The president gets a new showrunner. Mad MenDirector Matthew Weiner, who had been hired as writer, executive producer and showrunner on the high-profile drama starring Eddie Murphy, has left the series in preparation at Peacock, Deadline has confirmed.
The project, from David Glasser’s 101 Studios and Universal Television, is nearing a new showrunner and will move forward, I hear. The writers’ room, the majority of whom are expected to remain, took a two-week break to accommodate the transition of showrunners.
According to sources, the decision to part ways with Weiner was a creative one and was made by executives at Peacock, Universal TV and 101 Studios based on the Emmy winner’s pilot script. I’ve heard that Weiner was brought in to develop and write an idea that had already been conceived and presented to Murphy, and the view he delivered deviated from that.
Plot details for the new series have not been disclosed.
The president marks Murphy’s first scripted series and 101 Studios’ first announced project under the company’s NBCUniversal deal, which began in January.
Weiner’s exit was first reported by Variety.
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