October 11, 2005
Behind a Change at Helm of 'Chief' on ABC
By BILL CARTER
ABC's surprising decision last week to replace the creator of "Commander in Chief," its most promising new series, with the veteran producer Steven Bochco was driven by increasing concerns about production delays on the series, several executives involved with the decision said yesterday.
The show had fallen so far behind on delivering new episodes, the executives said, that ABC feared it might be forced to pre-empt the show or run repeats in the ratings sweep month of November. ABC also did not want to run repeats this month because executives believe they can establish the show with audiences that are not watching postseason baseball on Fox.
ABC announced the switch to Mr. Bochco on Friday, displacing Rod Lurie, the series's creator, just two episodes into the show's run. It is highly unusual for a network to make such a drastic move on a show that is doing well in the ratings.
Even more unusual was the selection of Mr. Bochco, the much-honored production hand behind some of the most praised network television dramas of the last 20 years, including "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law" and "N.Y.P.D. Blue." Mr. Bochco played a principal role in the creation of those shows, as he has with every show he has been involved with. A spokeswoman for Mr. Bochco said yesterday that he had never before in his career joined a show that another writer had created.
But ABC was under pressure on "Commander in Chief," which stars Geena Davis as the first female president. The show, which has pulled in more viewers than any other new series this fall, has completed shooting only six episodes, including the pilot, which was shot last spring. The third episode will be broadcast tonight. Most series that are added to a network fall prime-time schedule begin production in July and have six or seven episodes finished by the time the season starts at the end of September.
One problem with "Commander in Chief," several executives said, was that Mr. Lurie directed many of the episodes as well as supervised the writing. This process led to numerous rewrites and delays, the executives said. The studio even ordered production shut down for a time to allow for the writing to catch up, they added.
Next month is a sweep month, when networks seeking to deliver the highest possible ratings broadcast four original episodes of their successful series. With so few episodes completed on "Commander in Chief," and with the situation becoming no better, as one network executive put it, ABC was in jeopardy of not having enough episodes to fill the month.
Just three weeks ago, Mr. Bochco signed a new contract with Touchstone Television, the television production arm of the Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC. That deal made him available to step in as what is known in television as the show-runner for "Commander in Chief." Mr. Bochco is currently serving as an executive producer on the FX show "Over There." FX will make a decision about that show's future within the next two weeks, but based on current ratings, it is unlikely to continue, network and studio executives said.
Yemaya Royse, the spokeswoman for Mr. Bochco, said he did not want to talk about the move to the new series yet.
ABC also said Mr. Lurie would retain his executive producer title on the series. But executives yesterday said that the title would be Mr. Lurie's only continuing association with the show. It will be run entirely by Mr. Bochco, they said, with Mr. Lurie no longer involved at all.
Instead, ABC said, Mr. Lurie will concentrate on creating new series for Touchstone.
Behind a Change at Helm of 'Chief' on ABC
By BILL CARTER
ABC's surprising decision last week to replace the creator of "Commander in Chief," its most promising new series, with the veteran producer Steven Bochco was driven by increasing concerns about production delays on the series, several executives involved with the decision said yesterday.
The show had fallen so far behind on delivering new episodes, the executives said, that ABC feared it might be forced to pre-empt the show or run repeats in the ratings sweep month of November. ABC also did not want to run repeats this month because executives believe they can establish the show with audiences that are not watching postseason baseball on Fox.
ABC announced the switch to Mr. Bochco on Friday, displacing Rod Lurie, the series's creator, just two episodes into the show's run. It is highly unusual for a network to make such a drastic move on a show that is doing well in the ratings.
Even more unusual was the selection of Mr. Bochco, the much-honored production hand behind some of the most praised network television dramas of the last 20 years, including "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law" and "N.Y.P.D. Blue." Mr. Bochco played a principal role in the creation of those shows, as he has with every show he has been involved with. A spokeswoman for Mr. Bochco said yesterday that he had never before in his career joined a show that another writer had created.
But ABC was under pressure on "Commander in Chief," which stars Geena Davis as the first female president. The show, which has pulled in more viewers than any other new series this fall, has completed shooting only six episodes, including the pilot, which was shot last spring. The third episode will be broadcast tonight. Most series that are added to a network fall prime-time schedule begin production in July and have six or seven episodes finished by the time the season starts at the end of September.
One problem with "Commander in Chief," several executives said, was that Mr. Lurie directed many of the episodes as well as supervised the writing. This process led to numerous rewrites and delays, the executives said. The studio even ordered production shut down for a time to allow for the writing to catch up, they added.
Next month is a sweep month, when networks seeking to deliver the highest possible ratings broadcast four original episodes of their successful series. With so few episodes completed on "Commander in Chief," and with the situation becoming no better, as one network executive put it, ABC was in jeopardy of not having enough episodes to fill the month.
Just three weeks ago, Mr. Bochco signed a new contract with Touchstone Television, the television production arm of the Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC. That deal made him available to step in as what is known in television as the show-runner for "Commander in Chief." Mr. Bochco is currently serving as an executive producer on the FX show "Over There." FX will make a decision about that show's future within the next two weeks, but based on current ratings, it is unlikely to continue, network and studio executives said.
Yemaya Royse, the spokeswoman for Mr. Bochco, said he did not want to talk about the move to the new series yet.
ABC also said Mr. Lurie would retain his executive producer title on the series. But executives yesterday said that the title would be Mr. Lurie's only continuing association with the show. It will be run entirely by Mr. Bochco, they said, with Mr. Lurie no longer involved at all.
Instead, ABC said, Mr. Lurie will concentrate on creating new series for Touchstone.
