A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...
of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the head writer,
script
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...
and story editor. They consult with network and studio bosses and lead the artistic vision of the show, including the writers room, editing department, as well as select the set design, staff, cast members, and each actor's wardrobe and hairstyle. In many instances, the showrunner also created the show, and subsequent seasons could feature different showrunners.
While the director has creative control over a film's production, and the executive producer's role is limited to investing, in television shows, the showrunner outranks the episodic directors.
History
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
Barney Rosenzweig (born December 23, 1937) is an American television producer.
Biography
Rosenzweig was born to a Jewish family in Los AngelesWeintraub Entertainment Group) wrote:
"In the early days of Hollywood, no one questioned what Producer
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture.
...
Pandro Berman
Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer.
Early life
Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
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 is a producer's medium. Ask the people who make and stand behind their shows – from Aaron Spelling to Stephen Cannell, Stephen Bocho , Len Hill, Edgar Scherick or Phil de Guerre hilip 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 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."
Traditionally, the executive producer of a television program was the ''chief executive'', responsible for the show's creative direction and production. Over time, 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
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
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 blog and book ''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
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...
production company). The boss. Usually a writer."
''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' columnist Scott Collins describes showrunners as:"Showrunners run the show" "Channel Island" column, ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', 23 November 2007
Shane Brennan
Shane Brennan (born 1957 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer, best known as the executive producer of the American CBS drama '' NCIS'', as well as the creator of the ''NCIS'' spin-off series, '' NCIS: ...
, the showrunner for '' NCIS'' and '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', stated in an interview that:
Canada
The
Writers Guild of Canada
The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movie ...
, the union representing screenwriters in Canada, established the Showrunner Award in 2007, at the annual
Canadian Screenwriting Awards
The WGC Screenwriting Awards (previously Canadian Screenwriting Awards) are administered by the Writers Guild of Canada, and are awarded to the best script for a feature film, television or radio project produced within the Guild's jurisdiction, ...
In the first decade of the 21st century, the concept of a ''showrunner'', specifically interpreted as a writer or presenter with overall responsibility for 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 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
Tom Leopold (born ) is an American comedy writer, performer, and novelist. He has written episodes of ''Seinfeld'' and ''Cheers'', along with several books. Leopold has often been associated with Chevy Chase, Harry Shearer, and Paul Shaffer d ...
for series 6. Former ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
'' 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
''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...
'', in 2005. Jed Mercurio had carried out a similar role on the less conspicuous medical drama ''
Bodies
Bodies may refer to:
* The plural of body
* ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme
* Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series
* "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order''
* B ...
'' (2004–2006). But Russell T Davies' work on the 2005 revival of '' Doctor Who'' brought the term to prominence in
British television
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
(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 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 Tony Jordan on ''
Moving Wallpaper
''Moving Wallpaper'' is a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–09. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called '' Echo Beach'', each episode ...
Bodies
Bodies may refer to:
* The plural of body
* ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme
* Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series
* "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order''
* B ...
Critical
Critical or Critically may refer to:
*Critical, or critical but stable, medical states
**Critical, or intensive care medicine
* Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences.
*Critical Software, a company specializing ...
Television producer
A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...
Screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
Producer (radio)
A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. The job title covers several different job descriptions:
*Content producers or executive producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature. The content producer might organize music cho ...