Another executive producer is exiting Katie Couric's freshman talk show.
Michael Morrison, who joined the show last January after Jeff Zucker exited to run CNN, will depart when the show wraps its first season in July. His replacement will be Rachel Miskowiec, a veteran of daytime television who has produced The Tyra Banks Show as well as Dr. Drew's Lifechangers.
The announcement was made Friday by Vicki Dummer, executive vp ABC Media Group. Morrison's exit was expected as the show has cycled through a number of producers since it launched in September 2012. Multiple senior producers have left including Michael Bass, who followed Zucker to CNN, and Matt Lombardi, who is now a producer at the ABC News program 20/20. Lombardi was among the producers Couric recruited from CBS News.
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It's not unusual for a first-year talk show to go through a number of producers. But Couric's show, while the season's top-rated freshman entry among households, has been weathering something of an identity crisis. Well-placed sources tell THR that Couric is still working to find her comfort level with some of the fluffier staples of daytime and would much rather conduct newsier interviews such as her exclusive sit-down with Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, which earned the show's highest ratings to date with nearly million viewers tuning in.
In a statement, Dummer characterized Miskowiec as "an incredibly passionate and experienced veteran of daytime." "She is creative, smart and a great leader," she added. "Rachel is fearless and competitive and she truly loves making daytime television."
