Directed by Irish filmmaker Des Doyle, the documentary has the simple and effective title Showrunners and a trailer has been released that shows some of the famous TV faces involved. From actors to TV network executives the film looks like it will explore the relationships between showrunners and the audience as well as the way they work with other people in the TV industry. Some of the showrunners featured in this trailer are Damon Lindelof (Lost), David Shore (House), Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman (Fringe), Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), Mike Royce (Men of a Certain Age) and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome) showing a range of genre and a variety of fanbases. As the film is still being made expect to see other favourite faces turning up in the film.
The role of the showrunner is something that I am particularly interested in, it was what I wrote my Masters thesis on (I looked at J.J. Abrams and authorship in television) and so I await this film with much anticipation. Since then there now seems to be an even bigger role publicly for the showrunner in this new age of broadcasting, that has an increased interactive element to it thanks to the ever expanding world of Twitter.
In rather good timing in regards to this trailer being released, New York magazine's TV issue hits newsstands today and includes an article by Emily Nussbaum that discusses the interactive role that a showrunner now has. Nussbaum looks at the genealogy of this term showrunner, which came about whilst creator heavy shows such as The Sopranos and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were airing; creators David Chase and Joss Whedon ushered in new era of fan worship. Nussbaum states that with showrunners like these "when you watch their shows, you know who set their stamp on it."
A large part of this special TV issue has showrunners such as Dan Harmon (Community), Michelle and Robert King (The Good Wife), Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy), Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) and Jason Katims (Parenthood) discussing influences, whether they favour Twitter or not, shows they wished they had created, what they would change about Network TV and more. For fans of TV this issues is a must and includes features and interviews about the state of TV today, showcasing not just the creators of TV shows but also the talent in front of the camera such as cover star Amy Poehler.
What both this documentary and this special issue of New York magazine reveals, is that there is a continuing interest in not just the actors of a show or even the show it self, but with the people behind the camera of these programmes that are ambitious and loved by a very passionate audience.
Are you interested in the world of a showrunner? What do you think of the trailer for the documentary? Any showrunners you would like to see featured in the film?
For more on Showrunners check out their Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.
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