Chances are if your favorite show has felt different over the years, behind the scenes a showrunner transition happened at some point.

Law and Order: Organized Crime Tried to brace myself As a successful spinoff Law & Order: SVU But instead it continued to make headlines for numerous showrunners exiting the series. The police procedural, which premiered on NBC in 2021, stars. Christopher Meloni As Elliott Stabler, reprising his role from SVU.

When the show was renewed for its fifth season — And went to the peacock - It went through seven showrunner changes. No official statement has been made about the numerous swaps in the writers room.

Meanwhile, The Handmaid's Tale and became a household name Bruce Miller The hit series then faced a change in leadership just before its sixth and final season When Miller resigned As the showrunner. He was a writer and executive producer but relinquished his duties to executive producer Eric Tuchman And Yahlin Chang.

"We're ending our show on our own creative terms," ​​he said Entertainment Weekly before his departure in 2022. “Do I know what will happen in season 6? Yeah, I thought about the things that happened in season 6 for a while."

Keep scrolling for more shows with notable showrunner swaps:

'Law and Order: Organized Crime'

When Stable got his own show in 2020, Matt Olmstead Taking on the role of showrunner But finally resigned that year later. replaced him Elaine Chaykenwho had previously been on the show for one season Barry O'Brien take over Brian Goluboff Became showrunner for season 3 but left after three months. replaced him Sean Jablonskiwho left because of "creative differences" and David Graziano Take over for the last episode of the season. after Law and Order: Organized Crime was renewed for a fourth season, John Shivan was brought in as the new showrunner but he didn't stick around and Olmsted was brought back to finish the scripts as an executive producer.

'The Handmaid's Tale'

When the show was first in development, Chaiken was meant to run the show but Showtime passed on the pilot. After Hulu picked up the series, Miller became the official showrunner and remained at the helm until the final season. Miller resigned to focus adapted Testaments and Tuchman and Chang were named co-showrunners for the sixth and final season.

'Avatar: The Last Airbender'

After Netflix announced a reimagined live-action remake avatarmanufacturers Michael Dante DiMartino And Brian Konietzko was named as showrunner. They quit the series in 2020 due to creative differences and Albert Kim Came aboard instead. After renewing the program, Kim resigned and Christine Boylan And Jabbar Raisani Became showrunner for the second and third seasons.

'Call Me Cat'

Fox sitcom, which starred Mayim Bialikto hire Darlene Hunt As a showrunner, that lasted for one season Alyssa Neubauer take over Jim Patterson And Maria Ferrari was announced as the new showrunner for the third season, which turned out to be the show's last.

'definitely alive'

Amy B. Harris Originally set to become showrunner in 2016 but later stepped down Designated survival was officially lifted. John Harmon Feldman Until Harris was replaced Jeff Melvoin Came to oversee the second half of the first season. From there the writer Keith Eisner took over until the show was canceled on ABC. Netflix revived the series, which paved the way for Neil Baer Showna will be named.

'The Walking Dead'

The post-apocalyptic series premiered in 2010 Frank Darabont He left after one season at the helm and Glen Mazara Took over for 3 seasons. Scott M. Gimple Was promoted to showrunner for four seasons until becoming its chief content officer complete The Walking Dead suffrage And Angela Kang He was replaced in the writer's room.

'The West Wing'

Political series made by Dr Aaron Sarkin in 1999 and she stayed on the show until the fifth season. After he left, John Wells Remained sole executive producer and showrunner until the 2006 series finale.

'Grey's Anatomy'

Considering how long Grey's Anatomy is in the airIt implies that something has changed behind the scenes. Shonda Rhimes Was the original showrunner for five seasons Krista Varnoff Joining her in leadership. A season later, Rhimes began working alongside Tony Phelan And Joan Rutter And the pair remained in charge when Rhimes stepped down to focus on other projects. From seasons 11 to 13, Stacey McKee And William Harper Mackie was the showrunner before he left and Varnoff returned. Varnoff was subsequently the sole showrunner from seasons 16 to 19 and Marines take over

'miraculous'

before the supernatural The CW, was selected by the creator Eric Kripke The show was almost 10 years in the making. He remained as showrunner until season 6, which was then The best gamble take over Jeremy Carver Seasons 8 through 11 were the only showrunner before turning control Robert Singer And Andrew Dabb For the rest of his run.

'Gilmore Girls'

Amy Sherman-Palladino And Daniel Palladino They remained at the helm until they left after six seasons due to failed contract negotiations. David Rosenthal took over for the seventh and final season but ultimately it wasn't the same. Sherman-Palladino eventually returned for a four-part miniseries revival. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

'office'

Greg Daniels developed the show and served as showrunner for the first four seasons before departing Parks and Recreation. Paul Lieberstein And Jennifer Cellotta Showrunners were named for season 5 but Celota left the series after one season. Lieberstein stayed on for the next two seasons then briefly left to work on a potential spinoff. Daniels returns as showrunner for the ninth and final season.

'Community'

After creating the script based on his experiences, Dan Harmon Was the showrunner for four seasons. He was briefly replaced by the writers David Guaraccio And Musa Bandar before returning a year later.

'seinfeld'

created by Jerry Seinfeld And Larry DavidSeinfeld was directed by David for seven seasons. leading to his departure Seinfeld — who also starred in the show — took over for two more years until the 1998 series finale.

'Dawson's Creek'

Kevin Williamson Left after the first season to focus on other shows, which made sense Alex Gansa became the new showrunner. In a production shutdown — due to cast frustration with the storyline — Gansa was replaced Greg Berlanti In season 3.