A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over the production, and the executive producer's role is limited to investing. In scripted comedy and drama TV shows, the showrunner also usually serves as the head writer (or its most prolific writer). The role of a showrunner is not present on all television series, especially outside the US; this article describes the nature of the role where it is present.
25-444: Writer Alex Epstein , in his book and blog Crafty Screenwriting , defines a showrunner as "the person responsible for all creative aspects of the show and responsible only to the network (and production company, if it's not [their] production company). The boss. Usually a writer. Traditionally, the executive producer of a television program was the chief executive , responsible for the show's creative direction and production. Over time,
50-506: A co-executive producer "because everything else that I do — from hiring the writers, to being on set and producing, to being in post for months, then doing press — is not compensated". With the end of the streaming wars and Hollywood emphasizing profitability, overall deals became much rarer. Reduced compensation for showrunners and others in the writers' room helped cause the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike . In an interview that same month with Vox , writer Erica Saleh , who developed
75-453: A similar role on the less conspicuous medical drama Bodies (2004–2006). But Russell T Davies ' work on the 2005 revival of Doctor Who brought the term to prominence in British television (to the extent that in 2009 a writer for The Guardian wrote that "Over here, the concept of 'showrunner' has only made it as far as Doctor Who "). In an interview, Davies said that he felt the role of
100-448: A television production, began to spread to the British television industry . "Nonetheless, the show runner production model is still less common in drama production in the UK" than it is in the U.S., scholars Ruth McElroy and Caitriona Noonan wrote in 2019. The first British comedy series to use the term was My Family (2000–11), which had several showrunners in succession. Initially, the show
125-412: Is a dual citizen American Canadian writer, film producer, director, and educator. Alex Epstein began his writing career as an author of short stories for literary magazines. In Hollywood, he worked as a development executive for independent films, including with his own and Angelique Gulermovich Epstein's company Muse of Fire, and as a vice-president of Blue Rider Pictures. His first film writing credit
150-560: Is a producer's medium. Ask the people who make and stand behind their shows – from Aaron Spelling to Stephen Cannell , Stephen Bochco , Len Hill , Edgar Scherick or Phil de Guerre [Philip DeGuere Jr.]. The definition of who does what in television today is not that different from what it was generally in Hollywood before a few critics in France coined the term ' auteur ' and the Writer's Guild took
175-541: Is also a screenwriting teacher. Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made , published in 2002, is a screenwriting manual for feature films, derived from his career in development. In 2006, he wrote Crafty TV Writing: Thinking Inside the Box , focusing on his experiences in television and guiding writers in creating series and pilots. He also has a tie-in blog, "Complications Ensue". Raised in New York, Epstein graduated from
200-532: Is married to an attorney and has two daughters. Greenwald made a Twin Peaks fanzine in middle school. Greenwald was a senior contributing writer at Spin , and has also written for such publications as The Washington Post , Blender , Entertainment Weekly , The Village Voice , MTV Magazine , Complex , and Magnet . He is the author of the books Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo and Miss Misery: A Novel . From 2011 to 2015, he
225-1022: The Yale in 1985 in Computer Science and English and has lived in France for a year. Afterwards he graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and has worked in Los Angeles for a decade, before eventually moving to Montreal, Canada. Andy Greenwald Andy Greenwald (born May 19, 1977) is an American author, critic, podcaster , screenwriter, and television producer. Greenwald grew up in Philadelphia and currently lives in Los Angeles, California . He graduated from Friends' Central School in Philadelphia and Brown University in Providence. He
250-752: The Writers Guild of America in the 2023 strike now explicitly defines "showrunner" as writers and people responsible for making hiring decisions regarding a project's other staff writers. In a January 1990 submission to the United States Congress House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Administration of Justice, Barney Rosenzweig (Executive Vice President and Chairman, Television Division of Weintraub Entertainment Group ) wrote: In
275-505: The early days of Hollywood, no one questioned what Producer David O. Selznick was to Gone with the Wind , or Pandro Berman to all those Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers [ sic ] films, or Walt Disney to his early work, or Arthur Freed to the MGM musical. They were the producers... the storytellers. Today in television, the producer is still that person: the show-runner. Television
SECTION 10
#1733093882846300-421: The leading actors, who often did no more than say the writers' lines. "It had got to the stage where it was incredibly confusing; there were so many production credits no one knew who was responsible," he says. In June 2023, Andy Greenwald of Briarpatch said of the title of showrunner, "It's a made-up title, and it's not a paid position". Without an overall deal , he said, a showrunner could be paid less than
325-499: The most unusual and demanding, right-brain/left-brain job descriptions in the entertainment world....[S]howrunners make – and often create – the show and now more than ever, shows are the only things that matter. In the " long tail " entertainment economy, viewers don't watch networks. They don't even care about networks. They watch shows. And they don't care how they get them. In a 2011 article in The Australian , Shane Brennan ,
350-638: The new site's podcast network. In 2016, he and Ryan began hosting the Game of Thrones aftershow After the Thrones on HBO, as well as the Mr Robot aftershow Hacking Robot on USA Network . Beginning in 2016, Greenwald worked as a screenwriter on the superhero TV show Legion . In 2018, Greenwald and Sam Esmail 's adaptation of the Ross Thomas book Briarpatch was ordered to series on USA Network. Greenwald
375-621: The producers, their traditional nemesis, to court – thus all but destroying the Producer's Guild and giving leave for the studios themselves to usurp the name producer. Los Angeles Times columnist Scott Collins describes showrunners as: "Hyphenates", a curious hybrid of starry-eyed artists and tough-as-nails operational managers . They're not just writers; they're not just producers. They hire and fire writers and crew members, develop story lines , write scripts, cast actors, mind budgets and run interference with studio and network bosses. It's one of
400-451: The series One of Us Is Lying , listed the function and structure of the personnel in WGA writers' rooms , explaining that showrunners determine the tone and genre of the show, and break down the structure of a season, its episodes, and storylines, prior to actual production of the program. Saleh listed the hierarchy of the staff on WGA shows, in order of authority: The Writers Guild of Canada ,
425-399: The showrunner for NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles , described the position thus: He explains the moniker was created to identify the producer who actually held ultimate management and creative authority for the program, given the way the honorific 'executive producer' was applied to a wider range of roles. There's also the fact that anyone with any power wanted a producer's credit, including
450-776: The showrunner was to establish and maintain a consistent tone in a drama. Doctor Who remains the most prominent example of a British television programme with a showrunner, with Steven Moffat having taken over the post from Davies from 2010 until 2017. Chris Chibnall later took over from Moffat. Davies returned, following Chibnall's departure. The term has also been used to refer to other writer-producers, such as Cash Carraway on Rain Dogs , Tony Jordan on Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach , Ann McManus on Waterloo Road , Adrian Hodges on Primeval and Jed Mercurio on Bodies , Line of Duty , and Critical . Alex Epstein (screenwriter) Alex Epstein (born January 26, 1963)
475-414: The title of executive producer was applied to a wider range of roles—from a senior writer, to someone who arranges financing, to an "angel" who holds the title as an honorific with no management duties in return for providing backing capital. The term showrunner was created to identify the executive producer who holds ultimate management and creative authority for the program." The contract gained by
500-588: The union representing screenwriters in Canada, established the Showrunner Award in 2007, at the annual Canadian Screenwriting Awards . The first Showrunner Award was presented in April 2007 to Brad Wright , executive producer of Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1 . In the first decade of the 21st century, the concept of a showrunner , specifically interpreted as a writer or presenter with overall responsibility for
525-467: The video game industry as the story and voice director of Contrast by Compulsion Games . For Spearhead Games' Stories: The Path of Destinies , he was brought in to assist with the branching storylines and to add humor. He returned to work for Compulsion Games as the narrative director of We Happy Few . He was part of the writing team along with Patrick Huard , Leila Bason and Kevin Tierney that
SECTION 20
#1733093882846550-543: Was a staff writer and principal TV writer for Bill Simmons ' ESPN website Grantland . During his time at Grantland , he began podcasting with his best friend and pop culture writer Chris Ryan, hosting both the Andy Greenwald Podcast and the Hollywood Prospectus Podcast. Once Grantland closed and Simmons started The Ringer in Los Angeles, both Greenwald and Ryan began co-hosting The Watch on
575-496: Was for 1994's Warriors . In Montreal, he co-created and co-wrote the comedy television series Naked Josh and co-wrote the buddy cop crime film Bon Cop, Bad Cop . He was head writer (executive story editor) for the second half of the sci-fi series Charlie Jade with writer credit on three episodes. He has also written and directed several short films, and wrote young adult historical fantasy novel The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan le Fay . Epstein has worked in
600-737: Was nominated for the Prix Iris (Best Screenplay) and won the Canadian Comedy Award (Best Writing) for Bon Cop, Bad Cop in 2007. Naked Josh which he co-wrote with Laura Kosterski and the short film Role Play which he co-wrote with Lisa Hunter, have been nominated for the WGC Screenwriting Awards in 2005, 2006, and 2014. The Circle Cast was shortlisted for the Quebec Writers' Federation Awards (QWF Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature) in 2011. In addition, Epstein
625-440: Was overseen by creator Fred Barron from series 1–4. Ian Brown and James Hendrie took over for series 5, followed by American writer Tom Leopold for series 6. Former Cheers showrunner Tom Anderson was in charge from series 7 to the final series, series 11. The first writer appointed the role of showrunner on a British primetime drama was Tony McHale , writer and creator of Holby City , in 2005. Jed Mercurio had carried out
#845154