Brad Kern has stepped down as showrunner for CBS’ “NCIS: New Orleans” following a pair of misconduct investigations conducted at the series’ studio. The “Charmed” (the original, not this reboot) alum had been accused of contributing to a hostile work environment.
Kern, who stays aboard the Big Easy show as a consultant, will be replaced as its top executive producer by Chris Silber, who has been with the procedural since 2015.
“We were aware of these allegations when they took place in 2016, and took them very seriously,” CBS Television Studios said in a statement last year, when accusations first came to light. “Both complaints were acted upon immediately with investigations and subsequent disciplinary action. While we were not able to corroborate all of the allegations, we took this action to address behavior and management style, and have received no further complaints since this was implemented.”
The studio’s investigation found that Kern had made “insensitive” and “offensive” comments to his co-workers — however, CBS concluded that there was no evidence of retaliation, harassment, discrimination or gender bias.
CBS mandated sensitivity training for Kern and assured his staff that “appropriate” action had been taken to address the issues.
This time around, CBS Television Studios declined to comment when reached by TheWrap.