NCIS: New Orleans executive producer Adam Targum reportedly fired
According to an extensive report from Vulture, executive producer Adam Targum was fired from the series on January 25 following a human resources complaint and subsequent investigation. Targum was the chief second-in-command on the series behind showrunner Christopher Silber, who was promoted as a replacement for Brad Kern, who was the subject of numerous HR investigations and was eventually fired after first being demoted.
The Vulture report describes a “miserable” atmosphere behind the scenes on the series, with Targum having an abrasive style for running the writers room, which he did for long stretches of time. They also quote a source with knowledge of the situation:
“He is obnoxious, and he says dumb things all day long. He’s incredibly tone-deaf, and if a guy like this is put into a room with staff that’s been through a lot of trauma in the past two years, there are going to be problems.”
Is this a situation that can be turned around behind the scenes of the show without Targum present? It’s certainly possible, but it does feel clear that this is going to require a lot of education and some important changes. There are shows at CBS in the midst of a transition right now, especially following the exit of Les Moonves. The source notes that Silber had the support of much of the production crew at the time of his promotion, and the complaint filed towards Targum does not involve him in any capacity. With Targum’s departure, the onus is going to fall on him now to take even greater responsibility and role in trying to move this show in a more positive direction. On-screen, the image of NCIS: New Orleans is one that is often light and celebratory, where Pride plays music after a case and where the entire team is family. If the environment behind the scenes could be more of a reflection of that, it’d certainly make the show a far more welcome place. It would also benefit the writers overall to be in a less-stressful environment since it’s difficult to be creative in a stressful mindset.
We’ll continue to monitor the situation as more reports come out. We should note that NCIS: New Orleans will return with new episodes on Tuesday, February 12. As we previously reported, there will be no new episode of the show on February 5 due to the State of the Union Address.
In the end, let’s just hope that all of these behind-the-scenes matters can soon be resolved. The cast and crew who work on this show deserve to have an environment they feel good about, and not for their show to be defined by reports of mistreatment behind the scenes. (Photo: CBS.)