CBS series Bull has lost its showrunner. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Glenn Gordon Caron’s (Medium, Moonlighting) deal with CBS was not renewed following an investigation concerning alleged workplace behavior. He had served as the showrunner for four years. In addition to his departure, CBS also announced actor Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under, The Night Shift) would not be returning to the series after a separate investigation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, five series’ writers alleged Caron’s staunch opinions and treatment of staff created an alleged volatile work environment. One former writer, who remained anonymous in fear of industry retribution, stated “Everyone was so on edge — it felt like everyone constantly had, at the very least, lot of anxiety,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. CBS began an investigation following a mass exodus of writers once the show’s current fifth season ended production.
Caron joined the legal drama near the end of season one, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was promoted to showrunner at the beginning of season two in 2017. Many writers during his four-year tenure echoed similar sentiments, as well as writers who worked with Caron in the past.
“I learned a lot about storytelling and about writing fast — that was valuable,” producer Melinda Hsu Taylor (Lost, Nancy Drew) said via The Hollywood Reporter. Taylor was writer under Caron’s tutelage on NBC’s Medium. “But it was a toxic environment while I was there. And now that I have much more experience and I have been a showrunner myself, I can tell you, there are a lot of different ways to tell a writer that what they’re submitting didn’t work for you without attacking them in a cruel way. It is entirely possible to do this job with humanity and warmth and to treat people with respect, whether or not a pitch is working for you,” Taylor stated according to The Hollywood Reporter. Unfortunately, Caron’s alleged treatment of staff goes farther back than 2005’s mystery series.
The Hollywood Reporter details Caron’s first big TV break, overseeing ABC’s Moonlighting in 1985, associated him with an alleged rocky disposition. His alleged disputes with the network and alleged coarse relationship with the series’ leads resulted in him exiting the show before it ended in 1989. He even admitted in THR 2019 article that he was “no day at the beach.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this development is only the latest in series of behind-the-scenes drama for the show. In 2018, The New York Times reported actor Eliza Dushku (Tru Calling, Wrong Turn) alleged she was written off the series after she reported actor and star, Michael Weatherly (Dark Angel, NCIS), for alleged sexual harassment. Dushku later received 9.5 million dollar settlement from CBS. And in the wake of the allegations, series producer Amblin departed the show the following year. Despite the controversies, the series has been renewed for a sixth season. The network has promoted two female writers, Kathryn Price (Guilt, The Mole) and Nichole Millard (The Game Plan, Fallen) as co-showrunners.
CBS has not revealed the results of the investigation, nor the reasons behind Caron’s letting go, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The network has also been silent on why Rodriguez is no longer on the series as well. Rodriguez appeared in more than 100 episodes as Benjamin “Benny” Colon.