It’s one thing for a long-running series to lose its showrunner, like when Amy Sherman-Palladino didn’t return for the seventh and final season of Gilmore Girls over a “botched negotiation” or the whole we-don’t-need-to-recap-what-happened between Dan Harmon and NBC. It’s another when a showrunner bolts before their show even premieres. Attention spans are virtually nonexistent these days, so a solid, cohesive pilot is key to a show’s success. You know what also helps? Not having the term “creative differences” attached to your project. In other words, here’s some bad news about Bad Judge.
There is a major behind-the-scenes shakeup on NBC‘s new comedy series Bad Judge [starring Kate Walsh as wild child Rebecca Wright who knows how to have a good time, but she also happens to be one of L.A.’s toughest and most respected criminal court judges]. I’ve learned that Nurse Jackie co-creator Liz Brixius, who joined the series in May as showrunner, has exited because of creative differences over the direction of the single-camera comedy. (Via)
Will Bad Judge be this year’s Lucky 7? The showrunner shakeup is worrisome, but probably not — Kate Walsh is a big enough star that Judge will probably get at least a half-season to figure things out. Debra Messing is also TV famous, but her The Mysteries of Laura looks like stale, schizophrenic garbage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was wiped away after only two or three episodes, which is usually how long it takes before networks pull the plug (Made in Jersey got two episodes in 2012; 2011’s The Playboy Club, three, etc.). Either Laura, or Mulaney (which hopes to be more Brooklyn Nine-Nine than I Hate My Teenage Daughter), is my pick. Based on this list, what’s yours?
-A to Z
-Bad Judge
-Black-ish
-Constantine
-Cristela
-Forever
-Gotham
-Gracepoint
-How to Get Away with Murder
-Jane the Virgin
-Madam Secretary
-Manhattan Love Story
-Marry Me
-The McCarthys
-Mulaney
-The Mysteries of Laura
-NCIS: New Orleans
-Red Band Society
-Scorpion
-Selfie
-Stalker
-State of Affairs
-Utopia
