Very interesting behind-the-scenes development over at Brothers & Sisters…
An ABC spokesperson is confirming that Monica Breen and Alison Schapker are out as showrunners and longtime B&S scribe David Marshall Grant is in.
The ABC rep adds that Breen and Schapker continue to serve as executive producers/writers on the show but are now “concentrating more on development.”
Note to self: Do some digging. Something about this smells a little fishy.
PHOTO CREDIT: Miranda Penn Turin/ABC
Wait, what happened to Greg Berlanti?
Berlanti was only the showrunner during season one… back before it got completely ridiculous.
Congratulations Mr. Grant! Your writing on the show is fantastic!
Also, my parents tell me you were a good friend of my late uncle. I don’t want to give away the full name but he was named John and died in NYC in 1993. Thanks for being a friend to him through the end
Ah yes, John of course.
:::side eye:::
Get a grip jackass
….haha
I hope he is not the husband of the woman who plays Holly.
cant stand both!
thats Ken Olin…
I think you’re safe — pretty sure she’s married to Ken Olin, the guy who plays her boyfriend on the show
Patricia Wettig’s husband is Ken Olin — who’s been more into directing in recent years but now plays her significant other on this show. Hey, both were great on my old fave “Thirtysomething”!
David Marshall Grant was in “30something,” too — As Melissa’s gay friend Russell.
DMD wasn’t acting as Melissa’s gay friend. He is gay and married to his partner.
This show keeps getting more and more sappy. Maybe that’s why the shakeup?
This seems par for the course for this show. It burns through showrunners. They tossed the creator of the series, Jon Robin Baitz, a couple of years ago.
Hmmmm, hope this doesn’t affect the show as it has been great this season and last.
Not surprising at all. This season has been very weak and soapy. Instead of focusing on the WALKER siblings (all of them), the show is overcrowded with secondary and marginal characters like Robert, Holly, Rebecca, Ryan, Scotty, David, and now the surrogate chick (daughter of the Olins… sigh).
This show shines when Norah and her children are front and center. No matter what the writers do with the secondary characters, that won’t fill the void left by Tommy. He was and still is a key part of the wonderful chemistry that made this show so enjoyable.
I hope this new show runner recognizes that and brings back Tommy for good. I like Rebecca and Robert, but they should NOT be front and center. Same with Scotty and Holly; a little of these two goas a loooong way.
UGH. Tommy a key part of the wonderful chemistry of the show?! He’s the weakest link! I’m sorry to see him come back. I see no chemistry whatsoever between him and the rest of the cast. He is the contrarian of the group, and not in a good way.
Agree KH 100%. I was so disappointed to see he is coming back this week. He disrupts the chemistry of the cast to me. I am enjoying this season. I am glad they have Robert acting like himself again instead of some ogre as they portrayed him in the end of last season.
I agree – less R-named people: Rebecca, Robert & Ryan! I dispise and plotline that involves Holly and Rebecca – who cares??
I honestly, think Robert and Rebecca are fine. They just need to be treated as what they are .. secondary characters do the two siblings they are married/engaged to. They do not need major storylines for themselves. Nor does Ryan, Holly, Scotty, or Saul.
The show as at its best when Kitty had a backbone, Norah was a mother instead of a worrying ninny and the ancillary characters were ancillary.
Doing fine without Tommy! Walker clan is awesome. Holly is a good foil but sure hope they do NOT try to make her the “good witch.” Would ruin the dynamic.
This season has focused MUCH more on the Walkers than last, which is why I’m enjoying it much more. The last episode was fantastic mostly because they kept the focus on the Walkers.
David Marshall Grant has been with the show from the beginning and is one of their most talented writers. I have faith he will be a very good showrunner.
How many showrunners has there been now?
Bring Berlanti back!
Oh, god no. I respect your opinion, Cameron, because we all have our own taste, but I don’t want Greg Berlanti to be the showrunner again. He’s the one who came up with the whole Rebecca is not a Walker and Ryan is a Walker storyline. That’s when the show really started to suck. I absolutely detest the Justin and Rebecca pairing. That being said, I’m glad David Marshall Grant is replacing Monica Breen and Alison Schapker as the showrunner. I’ve always felt that Alison and Monica were two of the weaker writers on the show’s writing staff while David has always been one of the best writers on the writing staff in my opinion. Hopefully this move will help make the show start to get better again.
Are you sure about that? Ryan wasn’t introduced until season 3, and I thought Berlanti has had little to do with plot development since season 1.
Yeah, I’m sure. When they did the whole reveal that Rebecca wasn’t a Walker the writers said that he pitched the idea. Plus, he worked closely with the writers on the last four episodes of season two that were made after the writers’ strike ended.
Am I the only person that doesn’t know what a showrunner is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showrunner
Before I google it, I’ll show off my ignorance here. But what the heck is a show runner and what’s their effect on the show???
This season has been a lot better with the focus back on “Brothers and Sisters” (And Nora) and less on the others. I practically stopped watching when everyone was separated and dealing with their significant others. That never works for this show
Can somebody list the order of showrunners of this show?
I feel like Ken Olin was a big part of the mix but is he still (apart from acting, of course)? I would imagine that it would be weird for Patricia Wettig to work for a show that your husband was fired from?
taylor—actually breen and schapker were the ones that came up with the rebecca isn’t a walker storyline. the best stories this show had happened under berlanti.
No, in interviews Monica/Alison stated that the Ryan reveal was Berlanti’s idea. Berlanti helped oversee the show briefly after the strike.
I was disappointed at all the loose ends left hanging after last season’s finale. How did Kitty and Robert make up ? Last season she missed the helicopter. The writers glossed over it.