CBS' upcoming comedy Fam has been highly anticipated among audiences for being Nina Dobrev's first TV lead role since bowing out of The Vampire Diaries back in 2015. Less anticipated were complications happening behind the scenes, but it's been revealed that Bob Kushell has reportedly been fired from his co-showrunning duties on Fam, with workplace misconduct cited as the cause.
Fam is currently in production ahead of its midseason series premiere on CBS, and it'll now be moving forward without Bob Kushell. According to Deadline, Kushell was dismissed from the new series after a complaint was made about him using inappropriate and insensitive language in the writers room.
CBS has not commented publicly on the issue at this time. It was reported, though, that whatever Bob Kushell's comments were in the Fam writers room, they weren't considered to be sexual harassment against anyone. The words were apparently still inappropriate enough to warrant an official complaint, though.
In Bob Kushell's absence, his Fam co-showrunner (and show creator) Corinne Kingsbury will solely take on all those duties moving forward. The show did make a couple of other moves behind the scenes, with promotions given to former New Girl writers and co-executive producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman.
This is not the first time Bob Kushell has made a high-profile exit from a big broadcast comedy. Back in 2015, he quit as co-showrunner opposite Big Bang Theory's Bill Prady on ABC's The Muppets. That exit resulted from creative differences, with Kushell taking leave in the middle of its initial season. It was reported Kushell wasn't happy that the show's truncated development period was further delayed by Prady's Big Bang duties.
This is also not the first time a CBS series has had a big name come under fire for foul behavior at the workplace. A Criminal Minds director of photography recently got pegged with several accusations of groping co-workers private parts and being extremely rude on the set. Before that, the now-fired NCIS: New Orleans showrunner Brad Kern was the subject of multiple investigations into his own "toxic" atmosphere during production. As well, Pauley Perrette's noteworthy exit from NCIS was possibly due to disturbing on-set situations, per the actress.
With CBS Studios and Kapital Entertainment behind it, Fam stars Nina Dobrev as Clem, a young woman whose life is up on the up-and-up as she starts to build a family with her new fiancé Jay, played by Tone Bell. Things take a abundantly awkward turn when Clem's wildcat younger sister Shannon (Odessa Adlon) moves in as a way of escaping their wreck of a father. The sitcom will also star Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Fam is set to debut on CBS in the midseason, so be sure to stay tuned for a more official time slot as it's announced. In the meantime, head to our fall TV premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows that get here before 2018 calls it quits.
