For a bit there, I was worried that ABC was going to let the ship of “FlashForward” sail (or rather, sink) without a showrunner, but now there are three to replace David S. Goyer and Marc Guggenheim. ABC has announced that Jessika Borsiczky, Lisa Zwerling, and Timothy J. Lea share the responsibility of showrunner for the freshman show.
Borsiczky has been on board the show since its inception as an executive producer. Zwerling functioned as co-executive producer and has written several episodes for the show. Lea is an import whose resume includes “CSI:NY” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”.
You do have to wonder if all of these changes behind the scenes spell instability for ABC’s “Lost” replacement. Show co-creator, Goyer bailed last week to work on “Batman 3”. Last October, Guggenheim, who had been brought on to assist due to Goyer’s lack of television experience, left the show amidst rumors that the network wasn’t fond of the style of story-telling on the show since Guggenheim’s involvement. Brannon Braga, the show’s other co-creator, was unavailable to run the show because he is co-executive producing Fox’s “24”.
ABC has also modified its order for “FlashForward” season by reducing the count to twenty-two episodes, down one from the modified order of twenty-three, which was less than the initial upped order of twenty-five. Which episode got cut? I hope it wasn’t Robert J. Sawyer’s episode. After all, it was Sawyer’s book of the same title that inspired the series!
“FlashForward” returns on March 18th on ABC.
[Commentary]
I am starting to feel like the second I back a show, it is doomed to be canceled. “FlashForward” is a very interesting series and it could very well be the next “Lost”, but all of these changes make me raise an eyebrow. After Goyer took off, it was like “Wait, who’s driving the bus?” Is being a showrunner of this show like the Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher post at Hogwarts?
