Peacock’s splashy drama The Chairman has lost its most decorated creative name before the project has even been picked up to series. Variety reports exclusively that Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, is no longer involved with the series, which has Eddie Murphy attached to star.
The exit comes less than a month after the project was first reported as being in development at the streamer. The split was attributed to creative differences between Weiner and the producers. A new showrunning team has already been selected, sources say, and an announcement is expected in the coming days. The writers’ room is on a two-week break while the new creative leadership takes over.
Why this exit matters
This is not a routine staffing note. For Peacock and its producing partners, The Chairman is being positioned as a prestige swing built on star power and a blue-chip producing stack. Removing a creator of Weiner’s standing this early suggests the parties could not align on what the show should be before the greenlight decision.
The stakes around Murphy are unusually high. Should the project get a series order, it would be his first live-action starring role in a television series since his time on Saturday Night Live. Murphy is also a producer on the series, which puts him on both sides of the creative and commercial equation.
The package also sits at the intersection of several newer NBCUniversal relationships. Universal Television and 101 Studios are producing. 101 Studios, run by Yellowstone executive producer David Glasser, has a first-look film and television deal with NBCUniversal that began in January. The Chairman would be the first project to emerge from former Paramount boss Chris McCarthy’s deal at NBCUniversal, first reported in November 2025, which puts him in a consulting role on the studio’s relationship with Glasser and 101.
What the reset signals
Late-stage creative changes before a series order are expensive, but they are also a deliberate reset. The important signal is that Peacock and the producers moved quickly to secure a new showrunning team rather than letting the project stall. That suggests the package itself—Murphy, the producers, the studio backing—still has momentum.
Weiner’s track record explains why his attachment carried weight. He created Mad Men, which ran for seven seasons on AMC and won 16 Emmy Awards. Had The Chairman gone forward with him, it would have been his first TV writing credit since The Romanoffs, which he created for Amazon Prime Video in 2018.
For buyers and development executives, the practical read is to separate the asset from the auteur:
- Murphy remains the anchor: star and producer, with a first live-action series hook since SNL.
- A new team is already in place: announcement expected within days, not weeks.
- The writers’ room pause is short: a two-week reset while the new leads come onboard.
- The studio stack is intact: Universal Television and 101 Studios stay attached.
Watch the replacement showrunner’s track record. A prestige name would signal that Peacock is keeping the creative bar high; a safer, execution-focused choice would suggest the package is being de-risked around Murphy’s draw. Either way, the next milestone is not the announcement of the new team—it is whether the project moves quickly to a greenlight after the reset.
Source: Variety
