Showrunner Mark Schwahn has been fired from E!’s “The Royals” following accusations of sexual misconduct and the subsequent investigation.
“We have concluded our investigation and Mark will not be returning to ‘The Royals.’ The 4th season of the show has already completed production and will air as scheduled on E! in the spring,” Lionsgate said in a statement Thursday.
Schwahn was suspended on Nov.15 by Lionsgate TV amidst an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment from “One Tree Hill” writer Audrey Wauchope. The female stars of the drama, including Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz, released a joint statement shortly after Wauchope’s claim saying they had also been “manipulated psychologically and emotionally” by Schwahn, who was with the show throughout its eight-season run.
Burton later came forward with her own detailed sexual assault allegations against Schwahn, saying he forced himself on her on multiple occasions.
A total of 25 female cast and crew members of “The Royals” released a similar statement in November. The letter accuses Schwahn of “repeated unwanted sexual harassment of multiple female members of cast and crew.” Signed by “The Ladies of ‘The Royals,” the letter follows a similar one signed by the female cast and crew of “One Tree Hill.”
“Despite hearing rumors about his behavior on One Tree Hill, those of us involved from the early stages went into the filming of the pilot hoping they were just that — rumors. By the time we wrapped this had irrevocably proven not to be the case,” the letter reads.
Schwahn’s termination will not affect the fourth season of “The Royals,” as production wrapped in September. It is not yet clear whether a new showrunner will be named or if Season 4 will be the drama’s final round.