Apple is shuffling showrunners on its much-anticipated morning show drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
Drama veteran Kerry Ehrin (“Bates Motel”) is expected to take the helm of the series, produced by the startup Media Res. Jay Carson had been on board as creator and showrunner, but he has parted ways with the project over creative differences. Apple is in the midst of closing an overall deal with Ehrin.
Ehrin. who had been under a deal with Universal Television, most recently served as co-creator, executive producer and showrunner of A&E’s Emmy-nominated drama “Bates Motel.”
The untitled morning show drama marks Apple’s first major swing in the premium drama arena. The tech giant’s fledgling video arm in November set a massive deal with Michael Ellenberg’s Media Res banner.
The starry project — which also hails from Aniston’s Echo Films and Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine banners — was highly sought after by a number of outlets and landed a two-season order (10 episodes per season) from Apple in November. Media Res, Aniston and Witherspoon are the principal owners of the show.
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The series is based on an idea from Ellenberg and will draw background material from CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter’s 2013 book “Top of the Morning,” which recounted the recent rivalry between NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Ehrin is repped by Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston.
