An article from The New Republic, written as a reaction to this book and this book, as well as magazine pieces on showrunners, takes the position that showrunners are not to be (solely) credited with the current state of television, and producing responses such as this one and this one.
Showrunners are a curious concept if you think about it. Here you have someone entrusted with huge budgets and productions, who is essentially an elevated writer.
Craig Fehrman takes issue with how far we've elevated showrunners when discussing shows, or even promoting them and implies that critics and fans do not acknowledge the collaborative effort it takes to produce quality television, as opposed to the sheer will of one man, or more recently, one woman.
Several points raised in the article:
- Using an example from Justfied to extrapolate on the group effort needed to create a memorable scene
- Pointing to higher ratings for Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels compared to Mad Men as proof showrunner turnover produces television just as well as deities like Matthew Weiner
And, with some notable exceptions, critics do tend to underemphasize the director’s and cinematographer’s role in producing quality television. But Fehrman’s prescription—that critics consistently acknowledge the complicated interaction of actors, directors, writers, and editors behind every creative decision—is impractical. It’s like saying that reporters covering Google would get a more accurate picture of the way the company creates new products by talking to the engineers, designers, product managers, and marketers who work on them than they do by simply interviewing Sergey Brin or Larry Page. That’s undoubtedly so, but it isn’t obvious to me that it would be a better or more interesting story.
Regarding the second point, Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels have had five showrunners between them in the five combined seasons. While Walking Dead is the highest rated drama on cable, Mad Men attracts the wealthiest audience in television, which helps drive up the cost of ads without increasing ratings. And if ratings directly translate to quality, that is news to me.
Also, Walking Dead suffered it's poorest quality season following Frank Darabont's abrupt departure. While Glen Mazzara's capable hands took over the show, it did not feel like a smooth transition and took a while (until Season Three) for the show to regain its footing (and get off that farm). It kind of goes to show that the position itself, whoever is in charge, is that important.
On the flip side, just as a creative and innovative showrunner can lead a successful show, a righteous and condescending showrunner can detract. The misleading and condescending attitude of Veena Sud cannot be separated from the disappointing grief porno that is The Killing.*
* And that will be the last time we speak of that show
I admittedly follow the showrunners when I pick my shows and I read all the pieces out there interviewing them. My favorite weekly reading (when in season) is the Entertrainment Weekly post-mortem with creator/showrunner Graham Yost, and what I immediately thought of when Fehrman referenced the salt shaker scene.
Yost, like David Milch and David Chase and David Simon, doesn't put his name on every script, but his fingerprints are always all over them. Yost credits his crew to the fullest extent he can remember, because there are sometimes when they sincerely cannot remember who came up with an idea.
And isn't that part of being a showrunner? Fehrman uses the collaborative effort, highlighting other well known well done "lesser" jobs like the cinematographer on Breaking Bad, to show that it doesn't all come from one person...but he undercuts himself because he's highlighted the capable people on staff who are hired by the showrunner and given the appropriate conditions to succeed. Hiring smart people and listening to them is usually the mark of a good leader.
I often view showrunners like NFL head coaches, but with more control about a final outcome*. A good head coach is going to higher capable assistants. If he comes from a defensive background, he may rely more on his offensive coordinator. If he is a players' coach he may need a position coach to be the disciplinarian.
* NFL coaches can't force their running back to not fumble at a critical time. Showrunners can choose the exact timing and manner of a major plot point.
Not unlike the hot assistant candidates for the new vacancies every year, showrunners often hold staff positions on successful shows before getting their own vehicle. NFL coaching trees are always interesting, and the success of a particular unit often gets that coordinator attention for vacancies. IN the 1950s, Jim Lee Howell hired Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry to be his offensive and defensive coordinators and played in three NFL championships.
Glen Mazzara, mentioned earlier, was a writing on The Shield, whose creator had the foresight to hire both Mazzara and Kurt Sutter, who would go on to create Sons of Anarchy.
David Chase, hired both Matthew Weiner and Terence Winter* who run Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. More attention needs to be paid to a young writer he fired after being nominated for an Emmy with him, Todd Kessler. After his firing, Todd and his brother Glenn created Damages.
* Martin Scorsese is a producer on Boardwalk. Winter wrote the script for Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street which features another good match of Leonardo Dicaprio playing a Rich Guy to the tune of Kanye West music These are all awesome things.
Did you like Friday Night Lights? You may like Jason Katims other show, Parenthood.
Enjoy Spielberg's Band of Brothers? Writer Graham Yost created Justifed. Enjoy Justified? Try Graham Yost's new show (though less involved with) The Americans.
Basically, having information about showrunners and their pedigree is the best way to find shows you'll enjoy.
