Bryan Fuller on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’: “I’m Not Involved”

Bryan Fuller has officially left the ship.

The former showrunner of CBS All Access’ upcoming Star Trek: Discovery has clarified his involvement in the high-profile drama and it’s not good.

“I’m not involved in production, or postproduction, so I can only give them the material I’ve given them and hope that it is helpful for them. I’m curious to see what they do with it,” Fuller told Newsweek.

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Bryan Fuller Out as 'Star Trek: Discovery' Showrunner

Fuller stepped down as showrunner on Star Trek: Discovery in October. CBS All Access confirmed the move was to allow the prolific producer to focus on his other projects, including Starz’s high-profile adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Fuller penned the first two scripts for the series and CBS All Access is using his outline for the entire season, which he had mapped out before stepping down from the captain’s chair.

In his place, Alex Kurtzman, co-creator and executive producer, along with Fuller’s producing partners and longtime collaborators, Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts will oversee the drama.
“Ultimately, with my responsibilities [elsewhere], I could not do what CBS needed to have done in the time they needed it done for Star Trek,” Fuller said in the new interview. “It felt like it was best for me to focus on landing the plane with American Gods and making sure that was delivered in as elegant and sophisticated a fashion as I could possibly do.”

Fuller, a lifelong Star Trek superfan, confessed his departure from the reboot was “bittersweet.” “But it was just a situation that couldn’t be resolved otherwise … so I had to step away.” As for a second season, Fuller noted that CBS All Access has his number and he will “absolutely be there for them.”

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'Star Trek: Discovery' Adds 'Rent' Alum Anthony Rapp and Doug Jones

The CBS All Access show features the franchise’s Enterprise, now known as the U.S.S. Discovery. The drama will introduce new characters seeking new worlds and new civilizations while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966. Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Rapp and Doug Jones were announced as the 13-episode drama’s first cast members. Star Trek: Discovery was originally scheduled to debut in January and was pushed back to May, with The Good Wife spinoff now set to be CBS All Access’ first scripted offering.

Executive producers include Kurtzman, Roddenberry Entertainment, Fuller, Heather Kadin, Berg, Harberts, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth.