Just a month before Star Trek: Discovery is set to embark on its maiden voyage and begin filming, its captain is stepping down from his spot at the show’s helm. Variety reports that executive producer Bryan Fuller has given up his role as the new series’ showrunner, handing the reins to existing producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts. The announcement comes not long after the series—which will debut on CBS, before moving to the network’s streaming platform, All Access—was bumped back from a January premiere to May of 2017.
Now, it sounds like Fuller’s overcrowded schedule might have been to blame. The former Hannibal producer is currently finishing up work on American Gods for Starz, and is also working on a reboot of Amazing Stories for NBC. Although he’s written two scripts for Discovery (alongside fellow producer Alex Kurtzman), and worked out its larger arc, it sounds like his other commitments have started to get in the way of getting the show out the door. (CBS is reportedly also a little nervous that Discovery’s lead character, so far known only as “Number One,” has yet to be cast.)
Fuller isn’t departing the series entirely. He’s still producing, and will continue to serve in the writer’s room, breaking stories. Meanwhile, CBS has bolstered the show’s crew by hiring on the prolific Akiva Goldsman—who had small cameos in the 2009 Star Trek and its sequel, Into Darkness, and who worked with Kurtzman on J.J. Abrams’ Fringe—to serve as a support producer. The new roles were apparently worked out this weekend, as part of a solution to keep Fuller on the show in some capacity while he works on other projects.