“Newlyweds” is looking for a new showrunner. The NBC sitcom starring real-life married newlyweds Téa Leoni and Tim Daly let go of co-creator Gail Lerner Friday, the writer shared on her Instagram Friday.
“The reason I’ve been given is “creative differences,” she wrote. An individual with knowledge told TheWrap the show has finished several episodes, with filming on Episode 8 underway in Los Angeles, so the shakeup will not impact its Oct. 23 premiere on NBC. The series already had a hiatus planned for next week, a break that will now be used to find a new showrunner.
An NBC spokesperson confirmed to TheWrap that creative differences led to Lerner’s exit, but declined to comment further. Co-creator Jamie Lee Curtis, who is also an executive producer and recurring star, will stay on.
“The cloudy part: I’m so sad to be separated from the most joyous TV experience of my life. The cast, crew and writers are unparalleled,” Lerner wrote. “The silver lining: the first six episodes were made under my leadership, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
She added: “No one knows what’s going to happen in our meshuganah business, but I predict this show’s gonna be a barn burner.”
Read the full post below:
Curtis, who created the show with Lerner, has been a fierce supporter of bringing back the multi-cam sitcom to broadcast television for free access to audiences.
“A lot of people don’t have any money anymore. People are really struggling,” Curtis said during a “Newlyweds” panel discussion that included Lerner and the cast back in August, pointing to the cost of cable, streaming platforms and other expenses. “This is network television … NBC is going to look like they were geniuses of bringing back the thing that real people really want, and they want it for free.”
“Newlyweds” follows the later-in-life story of a free-spirited woman (Leoni) and a buttoned-up professor who spontaneously tie the knot after a whirlwind romance; Curtis plays Daly’s kooky ex-wife. The series also stars Emma Meisel, Ignacio Diaz-Silverio and Bill O’Neill.
Loree Seitz contributed to this story.
