Jac Schaeffer Eyed as New Showrunner for Amazon's Fourth Wing Adaptation

Amazon MGM Studios is adapting Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling fantasy novel series The Empyrean into a high-profile romantic fantasy series titled Fourth Wing, which follows 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail as she trains to become a dragon rider at the brutal Basgiath War College. The project recently saw a showrunner change, with Jac Schaeffer, creator of WandaVision and Agatha All Along, stepping in to replace Moira Walley-Beckett, who departed after initially joining in 2023. Schaeffer has signed an overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios and is expected to serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner, bringing increased production value and cinematic storytelling to the adaptation. The series now includes notable producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Kilter Films alongside Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, signaling a significant boost in scale and quality. Fourth Wing has enjoyed strong fan enthusiasm, with multiple books in the series making the New York Times bestseller list, and the adaptation has been praised for its faithfulness to the source material and character-driven narrative. Meanwhile, David Schulner, known for creating New Amsterdam, is returning to broadcast TV as co-showrunner and executive producer of Fox’s new thriller Memory of a Killer, starring Patrick Dempsey as a hitman with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.