HBO 'Vinyl' Loses Showrunner, Changing Direction in Season 2

For all the time and effort HBO’s Vinyl took getting out of the studio, the Martin Scorsese-Mick Jagger joint certainly skipped a few beats in its February debut. That didn’t stop HBO from ordering a second season, but now showrunner Terence Winter will depart, as the ‘70s music drama retools creatively in Season 2.

Following the show’s disappointing early run (HBO issued the renewal despite dwindling numbers that followed a 760,000 viewer-premiere), executive producer Scott Z. Burns will take over for Winter, who himself has a history with HBO from his time on Boardwalk Empire. As to what brought about the change, HBO says:

As we head into the second season of Vinyl, we have decided it is an appropriate time to make a change in the creative direction of the show. We have enjoyed a longtime partnership with Terry Winter at HBO on projects from The Sopranos to Boardwalk Empire to Vinyl, and we look forward to our next collaboration with him. We are pleased to welcome Scott Z. Burns, executive producer and showrunner, and Max Borenstein, executive producer, as the new team helming the show.

The change also comes at a time when HBO has seemingly struggled to launch new hits, issuing a final season order to The Leftovers, while Westworld has only just resumed production, both the only active dramas beside Vinyl and Game of Thrones.

Vinyl has two episodes left in its first season, but will a change in showrunners re-invigorate the rock drama next year?