SHOWRUNNING 101

You’ve just landed your first showrunning gig. Congratulations! Allow me to offer a little advice distilled from my own experience. Hopefully there’s something here that may prove useful in helping you navigate these uncharted waters.

PREP YOUR WRITERS’ ROOM

Take two weeks before the room convenes to come up with your creative frame. What are your narrative arcs? What are the major plot points and character beats you want to see realized? Things can change, but it helps to have a plan going in.

FOSTER A POSITIVE WRITERS’ ROOM

Create a supportive atmosphere. Make everyone feel welcome. Invite dissenting opinions. Have fun. And don’t overwork your team. Keeping things positive and your writers well-rested is a creatively rewarding strategy.

PRODUCE ON THE PAGE

Write to your budget. Nothing bogs down prep — and frustrates a showrunner — like a script that has to be reworked because it doesn’t board.

WATCH YOUR STRIP COUNT

Set a scene in one location — and that’s a strip. Move to another another location — and there’s another strip. Change locations again — and you’ve got another strip. Aim for a lower scene count to minimize time-consuming moves.

SCRIPTS IN HAND

Have as many scripts as possible before you go to camera. The production machine is relentless. Don’t be that showrunner prepping off a cocktail napkin or pulling an all-nighter so that your director has something to shoot the next day.

IDENTIFY THE SPIRIT OF THE NOTE

If you disagree with a note, suss out the issue at the heart of it. Identify the problem and come up with a solution that will hopefully address the executive’s concern while also preserving your vision of the scene or intent of the dialogue.

DELEGATE

Hire the best people, then trust them to do their jobs. You’ll be involved in every facet of production, but you must resist the temptation to micro-manage. It’s a mistake a lot of newbies make that ends up exhausting them and hurting the end product.

HIRE A GREAT LIEUTENANT

…someone who will be your eyes and ears on set while you’re locked away in your office rewriting away. This individual should know the scripts and what the director will need to get: specific shots, moments big and small.

DO YOUR READ-THROUGH’S

The reason I like read-throughs is because they ensure: a) everyone reads the script so that b) any problems are flagged early rather than on the day of production.

KEEP AN OPEN OFFICE

Let your cast and crew know you’re always willing to listen. Head off any issues that could bog things down on set.

LTS

Life’s Too Short. Specifically, Life’s Too Short to work with assholes. Nothing deflates cast and crew morale like a toxic entity on set, so avoid them. And if you can’t avoid, them, protect your cast and crew!

GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE Congratulations. You’ve produced a t.v. series. But you didn’t do it alone. A LOT of people helped. Let them know you appreciate them. Let the public know you appreciate them and their incredible work.

And that’s it, more or less. Good luck with your new show. And let me know if you need someone to write that mid-season two-partner.