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Is Bryan Fuller stuck in the past? Or is he just too hard to work with?

By Rachel Roth

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The award-winning writer Bryan Fuller has made a name for himself creating shows with unique storylines and beautiful imagery. A true visionary, if he could just stay put.

Bryan Fuller has only recently become a namesake in the world of television, but he’s not new to the business. His first writing job was in 1997 for two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He was also a writer, editor, and co-producer on Star Trek: Voyager. Those who thought Fuller couldn’t create a Star Trek series back in 2016 obviously didn’t look at his earlier credits.

Fuller’s work with Voyager led to series like Dead on Me, the first show he ever walked away from, and Heroes. It didn’t take long for Fuller to be a must-have collaborator on stories diving into dark and unconventional themes. If it’s strange and macabre you need Bryan Fuller

Eventually, he struck gold with Pushing Daisies, a comedy-drama about a man who can revive the dead. Because of declining rating the series never got a third season but nine years later, fans are still aching from its assassination. It was voted number one in Esquire’s “TV Reboot Tournament” and TV Guide had it on their list of 60 shows canceled too soon.

The Hannibal era

If Pushing Daisies put him on the map then Hannibal exploded that map. By the end of season 1, Fannibals were worshiping him the way mega Supernatural fans worship Eric Kripke, praising both the show and its creator. Only a man with a demented mind and a poetic heart can make such a series. Set as a prequel to Thomas Harris’s novel, “Red Dragon”, the series focuses on the relationship between Hannibal and Will leading up to Hannibal’s arrest.

Like Pushing Daisies, the show was canceled too soon, and this one can’t be blamed on lacking viewership. In fact, the producer of Hannibal says that the series was canceled because too many people were watching the show through illegal methods, thus lowering the network’s ratings. Hannibal’s rating did go down, yet their audience number remained colossal; clearly something was going on there.

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No one accepted the end of Hannibal, least of all Fuller. He quickly made steps to proceed with a season 4 or a Silence of the Lambs mini-series. “Silence of the Lambs” is the story he initially wanted, but he couldn’t get the rights to Clarice Starling. The rights to Will Graham were available and he settled on a “Red Dragon” story, but he never stopped wanting to add Starling and Buffalo Bill to the Murder Husband parade. Fuller is a man who, after becoming hell-bent on a vision, refuses to accept anything less.

Star Trek: Discovery

With two Star Trek‘s already under his belt, he wanted one of his very own to add and he got his wish with Star Trek: Discovery but left before production even began. Fuller didn’t pitch one Star Trek plot but multiple in an anthology format. Discovery was to be a prequel to The Original Series, moving into TOS and The Next Generation, until going past the timeline into a new adventure within the Trek universe.

In Fuller’s words, “the original pitch was to do for science-fiction what American Horror Story had done for horror. It would platform a universe of Star Trek shows.”

As they were considering, CBS asked for a more rounded Discovery plot before okaying an anthology, but the relationship quickly soured. From disagreements over directors to budget issues. Fuller’s vision demanded a higher cost and a lengthier production, but CBS was antsy for an air date. It got worse when Sonequa Martin-Green, Fuller’s choice for the lead actress, was denied by AMC to film Discovery until her character died on The Walking Dead. Meaning production would have to be delayed even longer.

In October the network had enough and asked Fuller to step down. Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg were his replacements and with Fuller went his “more heavily allegorical and complex storyline” ideas.

American Gods

The Starz series, American Gods, has the same look as Hannibal and is a must-see for Fuller fans. Beautiful, strange and compelling with themes of immigration and modification. A man fresh out of prison falls into a world of Gods and Goddess living in American after people brought them over from other lands. It gained a quick season 2 renewal but lost a lot after that. The showrunners, writer and actress Gillian Anderson fled, leaving a void that might be filled by the author of the novel it’s based on for season 2.

He didn’t have to wait for this to be canceled, he willingly walked away because of “creative differences.” Everyone knows “creative differences” means fighting and if rumors can be believed it was over the budget. Looking at the show it’s clear they spared no expense. It had an over $30 million dollar budget, and Fuller wanted more. The production company FremantleMedia North America imposed budget cuts for the second season, leading to the “creative differences” fight. Neil Gaiman, the novelist, also got involved and argued with Fuller and writer Michael Green over the direction of the series. The author was angry over a direction that would, in his opinion, ruin the novel.

Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles

People have waited for years to see The Vampire Chronicles come to life. We got the erotic horror classic, Interview with a Vampire in 1994 and the Queen of the Damned movie that rose from Hell to torture us in 2002, but nothing else. The novels were greenlit for a series and Fuller soon followed. He seems like the perfect choice and it’s a project he’s dreamed of for 30 years. When Fuller came on board, Christopher Rice told the story of a teenage boy who contacted his mother in the ’80s because he wanted to adapt her book into a movie. Although Rice gave the boy the contact information of a producer who owned the rights to the book, nothing came of it.

The novels, where each chapter reads like poetry, might as well be tailor-made for Fuller’s creative touch. I can easily see Rice and Fuller in a café shop discussing literature over coffees as black as their souls. However, not long after joining, Fuller said he “chose to move on” and stepped down.

The real reason for him leaving is still unknown but most likely it had something to do with more “creatives differences”. The series is still going strong without him, and the Rice duo is proudly showing off a picture of their completed script for the first episode titled “Lestat the Vampire.”

Apple’s Amazing Stories anthology

Just when Fuller’s constant show ditching act started turning into a joke…Oops! he did it again. The Amazing Stories is Steven Spielberg’s creation from three decades ago, running on NBC for just two seasons. Reboots were in discussion for years but it was Apple who came forward and gave it a home. Fuller was quickly added as both showrunner and producer and he planned on keeping the original theme of the show where each episode was a new story ranging from sci-fi to horror to comedy.

Reasons for the split are unknown but it was reportedly mutual. Relations between Fuller and his Amazing Stories collaborators remain friendly, making it one of the few splits that appears to have gone down without casualties.

What the hell is going on?

Fuller’s constant quitting begs the question…what is going on? Showrunners quit all the time, but this one seems addicted to it. It’s only a matter of time before networks start seeing him as a liability and refuse to hire him.

Fuller is putting all his time and effort in reviving his old series. It takes up a lot of time that could be put to use working on other projects. Reviving Hannibal seems to be his number one priority, but that isn’t the only series he’s still bitter about. After the end of Roseanne, Fuller suggested that Pushing Daisies be its replacement, and it’s awakening many fans hopes and dreams. It’s hard when something you put blood, sweat, tears, and years into ends, but it’s time to move on.

Is Bryan Fuller difficult to work with? Yes, probably. This is not a jab at his character or skills as a showrunner, but it’s probably true. He’s stubborn and inventive, simple as that. James Cameron,  Michael Bay, and Francis Ford Coppla are no different. Fuller seems to be the same way, without the cynical “do what I say” stare they all seem to have.

Next: 5 TV shows that should be revived to replace Roseanne

Basically, Fuller’s problems seem to revolve around money. He has high expectations and expects them to be met. This may sound unreasonable but the outcome is always incredible. Look at what he’s created and tell me he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Should networks still hire him? Absolutely. Hard-headed or not, he knows how to make a show and the headache will pay off in the end.

Hopefully, he’ll find his perfect match eventually. What do you think of Bryan Fuller? Is he a pain or are his expectations reasonable?

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