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Steven Spielberg Cuts Ties With ‘Bull’ Following Michael Weatherly Controversy

By Trisha Faulkner
Published on: 02:59 PST, May 10, 2019

The fate of an additional season of the hit CBS legal drama Bull starring Michael Weatherly was never something fans worried about, as the series held on to very solid ratings. Despite being such a success, Steven Spielberg has decided to walk away from the legal drama and take his company, Amblin Television, with him, amid the sexual harassment allegations surrounding the leading actor.

A representative of Amblin confirmed to Deadline that Spielberg, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey would no longer be involved in the production of future episodes of the drama. The representative also declined to comment further on the matter.

Spielberg, along with Amblin co-heads Frank and Falvey, had previously served as executive producers for the first three seasons of the CBS series. Glenn Gordon Caron, Paul Attanasio, Dr. Phil McGraw, and Jay McGraw are also credited as executive producers for the first three seasons.

Bull and leading actor Weatherly became the center of controversy while Season 3 was airing on television after his co-star Eliza Dushku claimed he sexually harassed her. The allegation later resulted in the actress and CBS coming to a settlement agreement of $9.5 million.

Dushku described the environment on the set of the CBS series as “toxic.” She also claimed Weatherly allegedly made several lewd comments toward her before having a hand in her termination after she complained.

According to Deadline, Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, decided they didn’t want to be associated with Bull after meeting with Dushku. The outlet noted it was a “bold” decision, as Bull is one of the long-running procedurals on the network.

While the 50-year-old actor denied having anything to do with Dushku’s termination from the series, he did admit to not conducting himself properly while interacting with his co-star. Michael described his behavior as “both not funny and not appropriate.” He later apologized to the actress before explaining that he regretted his actions.

Bull is a legal drama starring Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull. The series – created by Dr. Phil McGraw and Paul Attanasio – features a storyline inspired by the earlier portion of McGraw’s career.

Weatherly’s character plays the role of an all-knowing consultant that clients hire to assist in winning court cases.

Despite the controversy surrounding Weatherly and Spielberg’s decision to cut ties with the series, CBS has renewed Bull for a fourth season.

It is unclear who – if anyone – will step in to replace the shoes left behind by Amblin TV.

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