Who will save 'Save Me?' Showrunner Alexa Junge departs

An upcoming midseason replacement, 'Save Me' starring Anne Heche, has been put on hold at NBC due to the departure of the series' showrunner Alexa Junge. Junge, who has previously Executive Produced hit series like 'The West Wing,' 'Big Love' and 'United States of Tara,' has reportedly left 'Save Me,' a show she joined late after the pilot had already been produced. That means that Junge lasted a single episode on 'Save Me' and now NBC has halted production of the anticipated series to retool and assign a new showrunner to the troubled series.

Deadline is reporting that Darlene Hunt ('The Big C' creator and Executive Producer) is in talks to replace Junge on 'Save Me.' Sony Pictures Television will apparently be giving the reins of the single-camera format comedy to Hunt, taking over a project about a woman who lets her life, her body and her marriage wallow until she experiences a spiritual awakening which transforms her into a desirable and outspoken woman (played by Heche). Oh, and, this woman may or may not be channeling the word of god.

'Save Me' received the greenlight from Bob Greenblatt and the rest of NBC last year, in the same swath of orders that brought Matthew Perry's hit 'Go On' to television. Despite the tumultuous production, NBC is reportedly very high on the series concept and Heche, their star. The departure of Junge has allotted NBC the opportunity to reexamine the creative direction of 'Save Me,' but Nellie Andreeva at Deadline reports that the series has been a favorite pet-project of NBC brass since it was received from Showtime in 2010.

So it is reasonable to assume, given the gusto from the brass at NBC, that 'Save Me' will not go the way of 'Next Caller,' another midseason NBC comedy which had its production halted and its direction scrutinized. In the case of 'Next Caller,' the project was scrapped altogether. While there remains an outside chance that 'Save Me' could similarly falter, the proven hand of Darlene Hunt could be precisely what such a project needs in order to get back on track.

What do you think? Is 'Save Me' worth saving?