Cast: Benjamin Bratt, Queen Latifah, Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny, Brittany O'Grady, Nicholas Gonzalez, Amiyah Scott, Quincy Brown, Miss Laurence, Ethan Peck, Nealla Gordon
Team: Lee Daniels, Tom Donaghy, Pamela Oas Williams, Effie Brown
Three Atlanta girls who come together to form a band. Star details their rise to the top in a challenging business from the perspective of the artist.
There’s yet another change at the top of one of the 2016-17 freshman shows.
Charles Murray, the showrunner on Fox’s Lee Daniels- and Tom Donaghy-created midseason drama Star, has departed, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
As first reported Wednesday by TV Line, a search is underway for a replacement to join Daniels and existing co-showrunner Donaghy. Sources say the split was amicable after Murray (Sons of Anarchy) had a different vision for Star than Daniels and Donaghy. A replacement is expected to be announced shortly.
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, discovered after a nationwide casting call) who come together to form a band.
Star, set to bow when Empire goes on its holiday hiatus, details the trio’s rise to the top in a challenging business. While Empire is told from the point of view of music executives, Star will be told from the perspective of the artist. Benjamin Bratt and Queen Latifah headline the series.
Star becomes the latest freshman series in the 2016-17 class to see a showrunner change. NBC’s DC Comics comedy Powerless saw creator Ben Queen exit; and in April, showrunner Eli Jorne exited Fox’s live-action/animated hybrid comedy Son of Zorn, with insiders also attributing his departure to creative differences.
The 2016-17 broadcast season is starting to mirror last season, in which multiple showrunners departed and network series featured a startling number of recastings in what one insider described as the season of “bad marriages” as networks continue to face the pressure of “too much TV.”