When watching television shows, we usually get so swept up in the story that we don’t stop to think about all the work that goes on behind the scenes. Keeping a show on the air depends heavily on keeping audiences interested and maintaining a healthy story arc. Who is in charge of keeping the ship afloat? That would be the showrunners.
In this book written by Tara Bennett, the world of showrunners is explored and laid out in an accessible way for fans to understand what the job entails. Showrunners are creators and writers of television shows. As the name implies, they keep the show running. They’re not just writers, but major decision makers. Showrunners are the main creative authority and management of episodic television shows.
Showrunners: The Art of Running A TV Show is a companion book to a documentary of the same name, written and directed by Des Doyle that will be released in October of 2014. The book contains interviews and insight provided by some of the industry’s most influential showrunners, such as Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory), David Shore (House), Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse), and Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Gallactica, Outlander), among many more.
Broken into sections, the book explores different job responsibilities and situations in the world of showrunners. Topics are approached in a discussion format. Each topic is given a brief overview by the author, before letting the showrunners chime in with some in depth input.
I myself am a broadcasting student, so this was fascinating to me to hear from all these esteemed showrunners in the world of television, but I would highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoys watching television shows. When reading this book, you will be reading the words coming first hand from Bill Prady about how to write for a comedy, or from Joss Whedon about gaining his “reputation.” There’s a fantastic and compelling section of the book devoted to discussing why women and minorities are less in positions of power in the TV industry. This section’s discussion is provided entirely by women showrunners.
This book has new information for everyone. Whether you’re studying television or a casual viewer, you will put down this book knowing more about the creative minds behind your favorite shows then you did when you picked it up. It’s a short read, only 240 pages, so if you’re looking for a thick study on behind the scenes of television shows, this wouldn’t be it, but there is a lot of information packed into those 240 pages. I would imagine it probably reads very well along with the documentary that it’s meant to accompany. I’ll be checking out the documentary when it’s released this fall, for sure.
