Greg Malins Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
The Fox comedy becomes the fourth freshman series to see a change at the top this season.
There's a change at the helm of Fox comedy The Grinder.
Veteran showrunner Greg Malins has exited the freshman comedy starring Rob Lowe and Fred Savage, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. A replacement has not yet been named, though that should happen soon.
Sources indicate that Malins' departure is related to slight creative differences about the single-camera comedy about a famous TV lawyer who returns home after his hit show is canceled and joins his family's law firm. Malins, who has an overall deal with producers 20th Century Fox Television, boarded The Grinder following the pilot after NBC released him from half-hour Take It From Us, which did not move forward.
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The Grinder was created by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul (Fox's animated comedy Allen Gregory). The duo exec produce alongside frequent collaborator Nicholas Stoller and Jake Kasdan, who directed the pilot and is very involved in the show's direction. Malins was brought in to help Mogel and Paul. Insiders say there may have been too many voices contributing to The Grinder's creative direction, prompting Malins' departure. Malins will now focus on development.
The Grinder is the fourth freshman show to see a change at the top. On Friday, NBC's Chicago Med parted ways with showrunner Andrew Dettmann, following creative differences; ABC's The Catch as well as Blood and Oil made leadership changes as the creative direction of both dramas also shifted.
Malins' credits include Ground Floor, Bad Teacher, How I Met Your Mother and Friends, among others.
