Army Wives Creator Leaves the Line of Duty

Army Wives creator Katherine Fugate has been relieved of duty. "Army Wives is a fantastic tribute to the real life heroes serving in our armed forces and I'm so happy to have been a part of it," Fugate said in a statement. "With the show such an established hit, now seems like a logical time for me to step away and focus on developing new projects."As first reported by Michael Ausiello for EW, Fugate's exit from the Lifetime show may have resulted, in part, from rumored tension between Fugate and Wives' corporate partners, Lifetime and ABC. In its two seasons, the show has been through three show-runners. Rumors aside, ABC issued a diplomatic statement of its own in the wake of Fugate's departure: "Katherine is incredibly talented and we're grateful for her work in creating Army Wives. We are very happy to have had the opportunity to work with her."Will Fugate's discharge affect the show? — Anna Dimond

TV GuideNews Aug. 14, 2008 at 5:33 p.m. PT