Matthew Weiner Parts Ways With Eddie Murphy Series After One Month
The Mad Men creator stepped away from The Chairman as producers move to install a new showrunning team.
By Rebecca Foster ·
Matthew Weiner has left the Peacock drama The Chairman roughly four weeks after the project was first reported to be in development, with sources telling Variety that creative differences with the show's producers led to the split. Eddie Murphy remains attached to star in the series, which is produced by Universal Television and 101 Studios. Murphy also serves as a producer.
The writers' room has been placed on a two-week hiatus while new creative leads come aboard. A replacement showrunning team is in place and is expected to be announced in coming days. Plot details remain under wraps.
The Chairman would mark Murphy's first live-action series role since he appeared on Saturday Night Live. For Weiner, a greenlight would have signaled his first television writing credit since creating The Romanoffs for Amazon Prime Video in 2018. Weiner created Mad Men, which ran seven seasons on AMC and collected 16 Emmy Awards.
101 Studios, run by Yellowstone executive producer David Glasser, operates under a first-look film and television deal with NBCUniversal that began in January. The Chairman is also the first project to emerge from ex-Paramount executive Chris McCarthy's deal at NBCUniversal, reported in November 2025, which placed him in a consulting role on the studio's relationship with Glasser and 101.
