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Transition Research: Showrunner

Showrunners.

Showrunners, also known as executive producers, are considered to be involved in the writing, producing, and creative direction of a project. The showrunner is the chief creative voice behind the writing of the project. According to Business Insider, the showrunner protects the the show's creative vision. By this, they mean that the showrunner will be involved in every part of production to maintain the style of production.
Business Insider's Jethro Nededog interviewed Remi Aubuchon, the showrunner for Playstation Network's Powers.
"A showrunner has to advocate for the creative aspect of the show, and that's harder than it looks sometimes, especially when I have to sign the budget every week" ... "And the tendency, especially in the production world, is to want to simplify and go for the easiest and less expensive version of that, and my job is to actually say, 'No, no, no, I want it to be like this, and we need to figure out a way to make it happen.'" [1]
It's interesting for Aubuchon to say this, as it really reflects the combination of the roles of a creative writer and a producer. The showrunner has to be able to think about both aspects of production, and justify both aspects. It's much more of a battle with yourself as a showrunner.
GetInMedia also mentions that showrunners establish and maintain the show 'bible', which contains all the details about characters and plotlines. [2] Showrunners really have a lot more creative input than a producer would do normally.
Chris Chibnall, showrunner for BBC's Broadchurch, suggests that showrunning is "having a voice throughout the process, not just handing over a script" [3] I like that he suggests that it's a writer having a voice, but I also would argue that it's even more than that- however, the article is from 2013 and TV terminology is ever-evolving, so an understanding of showrunners could already be different to then. Adding to his comment, I would say showrunning is writing, and then creating. A showrunner is also able to work more visually with their script and they can add more imagination into how the programme will look.
Neil Gaiman, showrunner for Amazon Prime's American Gods speaks of his work ethic as a showrunner.
"Because story is my business, getting this thing to be exactly the thing in my head is my business, and I wrote all six episodes. I picked my director. My director shot all six episodes. We built a relationship with me sitting next to him—a foot behind him—while he shot it all." [4] I think this adds to my previous point of showrunning being more than just what Chibnall suggests. Gaiman is consistently involved, and works very closely with his director. This is much more in line with how I plan to work.

My Role

As a showrunner, I will fulfill my role by writing the script for the film, and producing the show as well as aiding the director during pre production and production with the style of the show. I plan to create a style bible for the show where the team can collect aspects of the programme that will help with the minor details. I also want to work very closely with Esme the director as I would like the project to be a lot more collaborative for me than as just a producer.

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