Alex Kurtzman has taken over showrunning duties for season two of CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery. Kurtzman will replace Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, longtime collaborators of Bryan Fuller, who took over the show after his involvement with the series ended after clashing with CBS. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kurtzman — who has guided the Star Trek franchise and co-written its recent movies — will oversee the writers room and take over as showrunner after Berg and Harberts’s budget ballooned and amid HR complaints from writers. “Insiders also stress that Berg and Harberts became increasingly abusive to the Discovery writing staff, with Harberts said to have leaned across the writers room table while shouting an expletive at a member of the show’s staff,” THR reports. “Multiple writers are said to have been uncomfortable working on the series and had threatened to file a complaint with human resources or quit the series altogether before informing Kurtzman of the issues surrounding Berg and Harberts.”
Discovery, now on a planned production hiatus after episode five, has one more staffing change: THR reports that executive producer Akiva Goldsman did not return for season two.
