‘The Following’ season 3 finds a new showrunner; Kevin Williamson still involved

Today just so happens to be the day of showrunner shifts across so many popular shows. It was not that long ago that we first reported that Andrew W. Marlowe was stepping down from his duties as the day-to-day showrunner on “Castle,” and now we have the report that Kevin Williamson is doing the same thing on “The Following.”

What is the only difference between the two changes? This one is a change that everyone saw coming, given that Williamson now has a new job overseeing the new CBS show “Stalker.”

According to Deadline, Jennifer Johnson (“Cold Case,” “Alcatraz”) has been hired to be the new day-to-day showrunner for the Kevin Bacon series, which has a challenge for itself after a second season that was at times muddled and was brutalized by critics. Williamson is still going to remain an executive producer on the project, and will continue to be involved in various ways.

The interesting thing about this move is that Johnson is more of an outsider to this particular series, though she has worked with Warner Bros. TV in the past. Also, her experience on those two intense shows probably do make her very qualified to take on something that can be rather challenging in the way that this series is with all of the focus on the violence and the shocking nature of every twist.

For those looking for an apt comparison for this news, think along the lines of when we saw Williamson step down from “The Vampire Diaries,” and allow Julie Plec to take more of the active role on the show. (Ironically, Plec has done something similar now so that Caroline Dries can take more of the reigns.)

Do you think not having Williamson as the #1 person in charge is a good or bad thing for “The Following,” or do you really think that it matters at all? Let us know below, and be sure to follow this link in the event that you want more news via our official newsletter.

Photo: Fox