According to the Hollywood Reporter, there’s been a major shake-up behind-the-scenes of the season’s most successful new series. Steven Bochco is taking over as commander-in-chief of the ABC series COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, replacing creator/showrunner/director Rob Lurie, who is moving on to develop other series. This is one of the few times that someone of Bochco’s stature has taken over a series he wasn’t associated with before… a common rescue operation usually left to journeyman showrunners, not Emmy-winning writer/creator/prod co. chiefs who usually work in their own lucrative kingdoms. This would be like David E. Kelley taking over JUST LEGAL or John Wells taking over INCONCEIVABLE though that isn’t entirely, um, inconceivable. Wells was brought in by ABC a few seasons back in a desperate bid to save their troubled series THE COURT, a show he previously had nothing to do with.
Rumor has it that Rod Lurie wanted to have the show’s teenage daughter have rough sex with a Secret Service agent and that led to behind the scenes conflict.
I like Commander-in-Chief, but it doesn’t feel like a Bochco show. I don’t know how I’d define a Bochco show but I know it when I see it and it’s not Commander-in-Chief.
I enjoyed the pilot, but then forgot to watch the next episode. That is my standard for judging a good TV show, did I remember to watch it?