A reason for their departure was not provided. Gough and Millar were replaced as showrunners by Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson. All began writing for the series at the start of the second season, and were executive producers by the seventh season. On February 6, 2009, after one season, the L.A. Times confirmed that Swimmer and Slavkin would take over the new CW series Melrose Place and not return for Smallville‍ '​s ninth season; Souders and Peterson would continue as showrunners. On July 24, 2009, it was reported Tom Welling was a co-executive producer of the series.On March 26, 2010, The Hollywood Reporter disclosed that Millar, Gough and co-producer Tollin/Robins Productions filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. and The CW charging that Hollywood's "vertical integration" cost Millar and Gough millions of dollars