The Good Wife: Showrunner Leaves CBS Drama, Ratings Trouble Ahead?

[R.jsheedy]

Last week, there was a change in leadership at CBS’ new drama The Good Wife. The series is the network’s second most-popular new drama of the season so will this move hurt the show?

Showrunner and executive producer Dee Johnson is leaving the series but Michelle and Robert King, The Good Wife’s co-creators and executive producers, are picking up her duties.

Johnson was initially brought in because the Kings had limited experience running a show, having worked on ABC’s short-lived In Justice and a few other projects. Johnson, on the other hand, is a veteran producer and has worked on numerous shows like Commander in Chief, Army Wives, Profiler, and the original Melrose Place.

The network wanted to be sure things ran smoothly on Good Wife and hired Johnson to guide the series for the first 13 installments. Now that the show’s been given a full season order and is performing well in the ratings, Johnson’s leaving to develop other projects.

While any change in show management can cause upheaval in a show’s workflow, this one isn’t expected to be that disruptive. The CBS TV Studio execs are apparently impressed enough with the Kings’ showrunner abilities and ratings to feel that the duo can go it alone.

What do you think?