Fox’s ‘Star’ Replacing Showrunner for Second Time (Exclusive)

Fox music drama Star is singing a familiar tune.

The Lee Daniels drama is replacing its showrunner for the second time, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, with Chuck Pratt stepping down from the girl-group series.

Reps for Pratt note that he only planned to stick around for the first season. Sources say it was an amicable split and done after season one was completed. A search for a new showrunner for the previously announced second season of the series starring Queen Latifah is under way. Production on season one has already wrapped and will not be impacted by the change.

This is the second time that Star has made a showrunner change. Pratt (Desperate Housewives) replaced original showrunner Charles Murray, who exited the freshman drama in September after having a different vision for Star than Daniels and co-creator Tom Donaghy. It’s unclear when a replacement will be announced. Also unclear is if the 13-episode second season of Star will be scheduled for the fall or another midseason debut.

Daniels co-wrote the pilot alongside Donaghy for the Atlanta-set drama that revolves around three girls (newcomers Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O’Grady) who come together to form a band. 

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Star was one of multiple freshman series in the 2016-17 class to see a showrunner change. NBC’s DC Comics comedy Powerless saw creator Ben Queen exit; in April, showrunner Eli Jorne departed Fox’s live-action/animated hybrid comedy Son of Zorn, with insiders also attributing his departure to creative differences; and CBS’ Kevin Can Wait also saw Bruce Helford be replaced by Rob Long.

For his part, Daniels has been vocal about Star’s tonal change in the wake of the presidential election. “We knew what the hard truths were. You could turn on the news to see — it was ugly. So I said, ‘OK, let me make this less in your face about politics and more about the magic and dreams behind making a girl group,'” he told The Hollywood Reporter in December. “Dreams can come true. It sort of shifted. I started out wanting to make a political statement through music and it sort of shifted.”

The Star season finale airs March 15 on Fox.