NBC's Newlyweds Adds Former Conners Boss As New Showrunner After Co-Creator Exit

NBC's "Newlyweds" have a new boss behind the scenes: Veteran TV producer Bruce Helford ("The Conners") has signed on to be the new showrunner of the freshman sitcom, following the exit of co-creator Gail Lerner, TVLine has learned. Helford will serve as an executive producer on the series as well.

Lerner, who co-created the series with co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, announced her exit last week via Instagram: "I got fired off it today. The reason I've been given is 'creative differences'... I'm so sad to be separated from the most joyous TV experience of my life. The cast, crew, and writers are unparalleled."

Helford co-created "The Drew Carey Show" and also worked as a writer and producer on sitcoms like "George Lopez," "Anger Management," and "Lopez vs. Lopez." He was an executive producer on the original "Roseanne" and returned for the ABC revival and then its reincarnation as "The Conners" (sans star Roseanne Barr), serving as showrunner and executive producer.  

"Newlyweds" — premiering Friday, October 23 at 8:30 p.m. on NBC — is billed as "a later-in-life love story" and stars real-life married couple Téa Leoni and Tim Daly as Jeanie and James, who meet on a blind date and "marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship," per the official description. "James only has eyes for Jeanie, but quickly learns that loving her means learning to love her sprawling, eccentric world of friends and family and vice versa." The supporting cast includes Curtis as James' ex-wife Claudia, along with Emma Meisel, Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Bill O'Neill, and Al Madrigal. (Watch a trailer here.)