It feels like something of a familiar tale these days – a high-profile TV project withBryan Fullerat the helm, huge excitement from fans of his other work (likeHannibalandPushing Daisies), and then … he leaves. It started with CBS All Access’Star Trek: Discovery, over budget concerns, and then moved on tohis exitfrom Starz’s second season ofAmerican Gods, which Fuller had helped shepherd into fruition. Now, a report fromTHRreveals that Fuller is stepping aside from showrunner duties for Apple’sAmazing Storiesreboot over creative differences.
While it may be easy to presume, given these recent stories, that Fuller could possibly have some unrealistic expectations about budget with his creative vision, that does not – in all fairness – seem to be the case here. As THR writes,
The split is said to be amicable. Fuller, who originally developed Amazing Stories for NBC before it moved to Apple with a series pickup, is said to have wanted to do a Black Mirror-type show, while the iPhone maker, sources say, wanted more family friendly fare.
I mean, that certain tracks. Plus, when it comes to Apple (and their first scripted series), money shouldn’t really be an issue. The series is a reboot of an 80s sci-fi anthology that was created bySteven Spielberg(who was not involved with the reboot when NBC originally picked it up). When it moved to Apple last year, though, Spielberg boarded the project with an overall content deal, alongside Amblin Television’sJustin FalveyandDarryl Frank. Fuller, who was set to write the script through Universal Television, also came along with the network swap. But it makes complete sense that Fuller – whose aesthetic tends to be pretty dark, even when it’s candy-coated – may not have seen eye to eye on a series that could call into account the very tech it’s premiering upon.
Update:With Fuller’s departure, EPHart Hanson(Bones) is said to be taking on larger role for the 10-episode series.According toDeadline, Hanson also left the reboot at the same time as Fuller for the same reasons, “as neither felt Apple or Amblin shared their mutual vision for the series, sources said.”
For his part, Fuller is alsoworking ontheVampire ChroniclesTV series with Paramount Television, as Apple queues up its scripted slate of original programming with a $1 billion dollar budget, which includes a drama starringReese WitherspoonandJennifer Aniston, a space-set series fromBattlestar GalacticacreatorRon Moore, a comedy starringKristen Wiig, and more. On the bright side regarding Fuller though …Hannibalreunion time?
