Star Trek: Picard showrunner Michael Chabon will be leaving the show “sometime next year”. 

According to a press release yesterday, Chabon and his wife, Ayelet Waldman, have signed a multi-year production deal with CBS Television Studios, which will start with a limited series adaptation of Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Kavalier and Clay is a story about the birth of America’s comic book superhero obsession, set against the backdrop of big-band-era New York. Producers Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman are also attached to the project, which will run on Showtime.

Chabon is currently the showrunner of and an executive producer for Star Trek: Picard, due to premiere in January. Quoting the press release: “[Chabon] will remain with the series until he transitions full-time to showrunner of Kavalier and Clay sometime next year.” That puts his departure from the show during, if not before, Picard season two.

David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios said of the Chabon-Waldman team: “Ayelet and Michael are two of America’s pre-eminent writers. From award-winning novels and non-fiction to their television and film collaborations, they have a remarkable body of work. We’re thrilled to have them on our incredibly talented roster.”

Chabon’s current project, Star Trek: Picard premieres on January 23rd, 2020, on CBS All Access in the United States and Crave in Canada. Amazon Prime Video will carry Picard worldwide, from Friday, January 24th.