CBS' Moonlight has lost another important member of its production team.

According to TV Guide's Michael Aussiello, showrunner Chip Johannessen has been let go from the vampire drama series starring Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin.  This is the second major behind-the-scenes shakeup for the show, with original showrunner David Greenwalt, Johannessen's predecessor, vacating his post over the summer for health reasons.

The network is reportedly looking for a replacement for Johannessen.

The recent regime change comes at a critical time for Moonlight, a show that has yet to be renewed for a second season, despite gaining a loyal and respectable fan base.  Incidentally, Johannessen's departure could have been one of the reasons why the show is absent from the network's fall season lineup, which was announced last week.

Moonlight, which stars Alex O'Loughlin as a vampire working as a modern-day private investigator, premiered on CBS last September.  The pilot episode earned an overnight rating of 5.8/11 share, a figure that did not overly impress considering the series is a genre show.  However, what it has managed to do is hold on to its audience, a feat that has escaped NBC's Bionic Woman and FOX's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

While CBS has yet to decide what Moonlight's fate will be next season, fans can look forward to the four new episodes that have been added to the show's first season.  The post-strike installments are expected to begin airing on April 11, and word on the web is that production will resume as early as March 4.

The last new and pre-strike episode of Moonlight aired on January 18.  Entitled “The Mortal Cure,” the episode follows Mick (Alex O'Loughlin) as he searches for his ex-wife and sire Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon).  In the process, he finds a temporary cure for vampirism.  Meanwhile, Beth (Sophia Myles) learns that her deceased fiance Josh (Jordan Belfi) had been planning to propose to her.

Incidentally, "Mortal Cure" was written by Johannessen.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TV Guide, SyFy Portal  
(Image Courtesy of CBS)