# data[].attributes.headline
Showrunners: The Art of Running a Tv Show

# data[].attributes.subject
Showrunners: The Art of Running a Tv Show

# data[].attributes.body
+ Showrunner: industry term describing the people overseeing all aspects of writing and producing a tv show.
- creative direction
- keep the "whole 🤬 thing a- float"

# data[].attributes.body
+ "The Showrunner is the life blood of the tv show."

# data[].attributes.body
+ Quality scripts, on time

# data[].attributes.body
+ Control & artistic freedom

# data[].attributes.body
+ Moments, not moves

# data[].attributes.body
+ Every job is important, learn something new and get better along the way

# data[].attributes.body
+ Internet= Immediate reactions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
How Does "Showrunners" Explore How the Internet Age Has Turned Showrunners Into Public Figures? | Read | The Take

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"The age of writers and showrunners being anonymous is over." - Steven DeKnight, Spartacus: War of the Damned (2010) showrunner.

Years ago, the production of television shows was something the regular person didn't know anything about. Shows were just there, through some Hollywood mysticism performed by various behind-the-scenes people nobody knew, or really cared to know. The show's stars were the only names people recognized. It didn't matter who wrote or directed.

It wasn't important who was making the sausage, so long as it ended up on the plate and tasted good.

Then the internet came along. As it grew, people realized they could discuss things with others. They could share ideas and information. They could talk about anything, including television, in a way they couldn't before. And they could get insight and information about the programs they watched on a level to which they previously weren't privy. Showrunners (2014) lets many of its subjects talk about this subject, for better or for worse.

You used to know who wrote an episode of TV by seeing their name in the credits, and that was about as far as it went. Now, you can look up that writer on the internet, see what other episodes they've done, see what other programs they've worked on, and become a fan of their work. The internet has turned all those miscellaneous names in television credits into real people, and the leader of those names is the showrunner. The showrunner is responsible for everything - writing, overseeing the writing staff, handling production, meeting deadlines, balancing schedules, keeping the program within budget, and a thousand other things.

As Big Bang Theory (2007) showrunner Bill Prady puts it in the documentary, it's the "single best and worst job" imaginable.

Showrunners are now seen as the champions of the projects they oversee. While the documentary emphasizes the collaborative nature of television production, it still (obviously) glamorizes the showrunner as the one in charge of everything. When showrunners do a good job, they become household names. Before the age of modern technology, the internet, and the discourse it has brought about, that never would have been the case.

Now that internet transparency lets people know who's behind the scenes, audiences can examine and understand changes within the programming. The Walking Dead (2010) underwent a significant change in structure, quality, and pace when Glen Mazzara stepped down as showrunner to be replaced by Scott M. Gimple. Historically, such a move would be publicly unknown. Now, it's a huge deal. Gimple is a face people know. He's admired for his writing skills on fan-favorite episodes like "Clear" and "No Sanctuary," and is a presence as in-demand as the show's lead actors at conventions like Comic Con and on the series' behind-the-scenes companion program Talking Dead (2010).

Plus, showrunners are the one single person fans know have all the answers to their questions. Their public presence is now expected, as they're the boss of all information regarding a show. In the film, Damon Lindelof discusses how his public appearances on talk shows and the internet were what kept Lost (2004) fans going. The show was so large and complex, not engaging the audience and "not talking about the show would have hurt the show," he says.

Most showrunners started out as writers. It's no surprise to hear them all refer to good writing as the heartbeat of a successful television show. And thanks to the internet, writers are getting greater public recognition for their work.

The documentary is an excellent watch for those with ambitions of becoming a television writer, as many of the interviewees tell the stories of how they first entered the business. (Ronald D. Moore, showrunner of Battlestar Galactica (2004), started as a Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) writer after handing a spec script to Gene Roddenberry's assistant. The Trek producers liked it, bought it, then hired him as a staff writer. Moore was on set that day and able to hand in the spec because he was dating a girl who worked on the show.)

What celebritizing showrunners has done is not only drawn attention to the great number of people involved with producing television, but it establishes expectations from certain individuals after they helm a show that becomes a great success. This isn't necessarily a good thing, but it is the nature of the beast.

Vince Gilligan. Joss Whedon. Damon Lindelof. J.J. Abrams. Hart Hanson. These names mean something to the public. They are all people who launched their careers through showrunning massively successful programs, and each name calls to mind a certain "style" of show based on that success.
Gilligan equals dark, extremely well-written drama.
Whedon equals inventive, genre-bending fantasy and sci-fi.
Lindelof equals shows nearly too complicated to understand.
Whether or not a showrunner follows a project with a comparable project, their celebrity status is beginning to typecast their abilities in the same manner as actors being typecasted to particular roles.

But showrunners do an unarguably complicated job. Modern dissemination of information is fantastic in that it allows recognition of these efforts. In the age of the internet and Comic Con and YouTube, the people behind the scenes will continue to have more ways to interact with the fans of the shows they're making and gain recognition for their material.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Does "Showrunners" Explore How the Internet Age Has Turned Showrunners Into Public Figures? | Read | The Take

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The age of writers and showrunners being anonymous is over." - Steven DeKnight, Spartacus: War of the Damned (2010) showrunner. Years ago, the production of television shows was something the regular person didn't know anything about. Shows were just there, through some Hollywood mysticism performed by various behind-the-scenes people nobody knew, or really cared to know.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Know where your show is going.

# data[].attributes.body
+ "Is this the hill you're going to die on?"

# data[].attributes.body
+ Places like HBO are more relaxed and more fun to work with bc they aren't worried about offending anyone.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Branding oneself

# data[].attributes.body
+ Money made on network show is large

# data[].attributes.body
+ Showrunning is "a feat of choreography"

# data[].attributes.body
+ "It's a grind"

# data[].attributes.body
+ Women have to worry about things that men showrunners don't.
- being thought of as a 🤬
- taking charge

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Features
How Women Showrunners Are Changing TV

This year seven trailblazing series led by women come to an end. Each one - "Jane the Virgin," "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Orange Is the New Black," "Broad City," "Transparent," "The Affair," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" - forever changed television. They have been some of the stealthiest series of the so-called Golden Age of Television, quietly shifting cultural consciousness and introducing some of the most powerful women showrunners in Hollywood to the television landscape.

When we talk about Golden Age television, we tend to focus on bad men - a mob boss, a drug lord, a womanizing exec, a stickup man. We also tend to talk a lot about the showrunners behind these antiheroes - David Chase, Vince Gilligan, Matt Weiner, David Simon. Brett Martin's "Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution" describes the deluge of antiheroes on television as a cultural watershed, one that marked a new era in television and American storytelling.

But many critics argue that the Golden Age of Television has recently been undergoing a massive shift. "The dominant form of the TV drama," the AV Club's Emily VanDerWerff argued around the finales of "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," "is slowly moving away from dark men in dark times doing dark things."

And who has been ushering television away from "dark men in dark times doing dark things"? In large part, women.

As the major series about sulking male antiheroes have gradually concluded in the past decade, women creators have been steering the television landscape toward a more complex, emotional, and authentic ideal. The 2010s have seen a major movement by women showrunners like Jennie Snyder Urman and Aline Brosh McKenna, whose series depict mental illness, trauma, intimacy, and existential crisis through a distinctly female lens. Television in the 2000s was certainly shaped by the male characters and male showrunners. But at the forefront of the last 10 years of television are women creators who are reimagining dominant television narratives. The result: an explosion of innovative television by and about women.

Snyder Urman's "Jane the Virgin" is an intimate and revolutionary look into the inner lives of three generations of Latina women. The Villanueva women - Jane, her mother Xiomara, and her grandmother Alba - are tough, vulnerable, principled, emotional, and complicated. They try their best, they make mistakes, and they love very hard. Jane Villanueva is the perfect antidote to the brooding antihero; she is earnest, compassionate, fiercely loyal, and wears her heart on her sleeve. She talks out her feelings, usually on her front porch, and talks about those feelings often. She cries even more often - cries. She's never murdered anyone or cheated, though she does have a habit of butting her nose in other people's business. Jane is ultimately a fully-formed woman, replete with strengths and weaknesses. Following the unexpected pregnancy that catalyzes the show, Snyder Urman was interested in "explor[ing] the next stage, which is how to retain your identity as a woman, a professional, and a mother," she told Deadline .

And while many Golden Age series veiled their emotional punches with a gritty aesthetic or "elevated" subtlety, "Jane the Virgin" goes all in on feeling. Snyder Urman the description of the series' soapy format as a "pornography of emotion." But that doesn't disqualify the series from being "prestige TV." "Jane the Virgin," as the New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum writes , "is not a guilty pleasure. Instead, the show is a joyful manifesto against that very putdown." Nussbaum cites the show's "unusual optical density" and interweaving plots ("ranging from poignant to zany") as essential to its genius. "As usual," she opines, "the world took all this perfection for granted."

While "Jane the Virgin" has celebrated overt emotion, vulnerability, and melodrama, other series have highlighted women's experiences with mental illness. When, in 1999, Tony Soprano first went to therapy, audiences were shocked. Soprano's mental illness - manifested as anxiety and panic attacks - was an unexpected twist on the mob boss narrative. His therapy visits were hailed as compelling and humanizing. Meanwhile, the myth of the "crazy woman" persisted. But in the past decade, series like "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Russian Doll," "Fleabag," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" have tackled mental illness and trauma from distinctly female perspectives, deconstructing "craziness" from the inside out.

"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's" Rebecca Bunch lives with borderline personality disorder. Nadia Vulvokov of "Russian Doll" grew up with a mentally ill mother. Fleabag's best friend died by suicide. Kimmy Schmidt deals with PTSD as a result of being sequestered in a bunker by her abuser for over a decade. All of these women struggle with mental illness and traumatic experiences in their own flawed - and frequently comedic - ways.

"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" addresses this trope most explicitly. "From the beginning," showrunner , "our idea was always to get underneath stereotypes." Just look at the lyrics for Brosh McKenna told The Lily the first season's theme song:

While the series begins with Rebecca's move from New York to California to chase an old summer camp crush, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" quickly morphs into an exploration of mental illness that is indeed nuanced. From therapy to medication to coping mechanisms, the show never holds back from touching on the nitty-gritty of living with mental illness, specifically as a woman.

From the way women's mental health is stigmatized, to the sexist labels of "crazy" and "psycho" girlfriends, to the way women's trauma is often minimized, the series takes a hard look at living with and treating mental illness from a female point of view. "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," as Nussbaum writes , "wasn't kidding about the crazy bit. When, in the last season, Rebecca got a definitive label from her psychiatrist, during a joyful, anxious number called 'A Diagnosis,' it was the culmination of the show's daring story arc, which had dwelled in darkness from the beginning." All the while, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" also skewered the rom-com genre and, oh yeah, featured two to three original songs in every episode.

Rebecca is, in her own way, an antihero. Nussbaum notes, "Rebecca might have been unbearable if we didn't love her so much." The same could be said of Walter White or Don Draper who, despite their personality defects and immoral deeds, galvanized our attention and even affection. But the final season saw "Rebecca trying to find an ethical way to take responsibility for the things that she's done," said Brosh McKenna. "And she now has a diagnosis, so she's working on herself, but she's not perfect ... She's always in process."

Of course, Rebecca isn't the only woman antihero in this new television landscape. Women-run series like "How to Get Away with Murder" and "UnREAL" have introduced us to deeply flawed women who can sometimes prove difficult to root for - though we always end up rooting for them anyway. Annalise Keating and Quinn King are callous, cold, and dabble in the morally dubious, from manipulation to downright murder. These are the kinds of women who could have never thrived - or possibly even existed - in the decade prior, lest they be deemed "unlikable."

Women showrunners have also brought female friendship to the forefront of the television landscape. "Broad City," "Tuca & Bertie," and "Insecure" chronicle the intense ups and downs of close female friendships, along with the goofy, gross bits. The friends of the women-created shows of the last decade relate deeply to each other. The story of Abbi and Ilana of "Broad City," for example, is a platonic love story about two co-dependent, underachieving, and extremely lovable stoner-dork-badasses. The two women are polar opposites and perfectly in-sync.

The same could be said for the titular Tuca and Bertie, or Issa and Molly of "Insecure," all of whom share their own unique histories and baggage when it comes to their best-friendships.

While we've seen some nuanced female friendships on male-run series - Joan and Peggy of "Mad Men," for example - women characters tend to have less screen time together on these shows. Either isolated from each other or tethered to men, most women friends on male-run Golden Age shows rarely pass the Bechdel Test. Women-run series are defying that narrative norm.

The introduction of flawed men to television was indeed a cultural turning point. Television storytelling got darker, more interesting, and more complex. But quality storytelling, or "prestige TV," also became associated exclusively with men. And though women still account for a dismal fraction of most writers' rooms, a small but powerful number of women showrunners such as Snyder Urman, Brosh McKenna, Shonda Rhimes, and Jenji Kohan have become beacons of hope for the future of television. Eliana Dockterman of Time writes , "These shows [have] ignited a conversation about what women could and couldn't do onscreen, but they also marked a new era behind the camera: the rise of the female showrunner."

Beyond changing cultural attitudes towards women, women-run series have also pushed us to analyze the series that made up the Golden Era more closely. "In this new era of feminist storytelling," Dockterman notes, "audiences began to scrutinize male-run shows that cast women as either Madonnas or whores."

In just the past decade, women have irrevocably changed what television can be. While quality was once associated with gritty and dark male-centric series, female showrunners have introduced shows that have flipped the script on what good television can be. Brooding male antiheroes, dubious moral codes, and explicit violence are all valid modes of storytelling - but they're not the only markers of prestige TV.

By broadening the scope of their storytelling - tapping into emotion, exploring female friendships, and borrowing from genres like telenovelas, musicals, and buddy comedies - women showrunners have expanded these storytelling possibilities. Equally as important, they have blazed a trail for other women creators to follow, as they continue upending television as we know it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This year seven trailblazing series led by women come to an end. Each one - "Jane the Virgin," "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Orange Is the New Black," "Broad City," "Transparent," "The Affair," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" - forever changed television. They have been some of the stealthiest series of the so-called Golden Age of Television, quietly shifting...

# data[].attributes.body
+ Consumer help

# data[].attributes.headline
Screenwriters' Panel: It Starts With A Script

# data[].attributes.subject
Screenwriters' Panel: It Starts With A Script

# data[].attributes.body
+ Reality & Fiction

# data[].attributes.body
+ Telling a story for an audience who doesn't care who the characters are/were in real life.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Story before truth

# data[].attributes.body
+ Slippery between what's real and not real.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Tell the best story possible.

# data[].attributes.body
+ No movie depicting youth and cancer.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Add humor to the sad.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Power structure

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Power structure definition is - a group of persons having control of an organization : establishment. How to use power structure in a sentence.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Comedy/Drama Mix

# data[].attributes.body
+ The Help turned down by 60 agents!

# data[].attributes.body
+ Stories continue to grow sometimes after you've walked away.

# data[].attributes.body
+ 1955

# data[].attributes.body
+ First draft came from within.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Book-Movie
- over write bc u love everything
- Challenge= writers strike; think about voice from 1st person to movie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Would you like to turn your novel into a screenplay?

Get comfortable. This is going to take a while.

Writing a script isn't the same as writing a novel. It requires a totally different skill set. But fortunately, if you already have the talent, passion, and inclination to write, you can acquire the necessary skills to write your own movie.

Let's dive in.

Start By Answering This One Question: Will Your Novel Make a Good Movie?

Let's be brutally honest here: Not every story adapts well into a movie, and that's not because the story sucks. Far to the contrary. Some stories are better experienced through reading. An author in his or her prime can write in such a way that the reader is hanging onto every single word.

In fact, most books are better than films simply because it's impossible to compete with the vivid imagination of the avid reader.

But people still love films. It's a billion dollar industry, after all. And it's not just about the money. Filmmaking is also a legitimate art form, as is screenwriting. While your screenplay may take a different path than your novel, it can still be just as engaging to the right audience and your message can still translate.

Use the Right Tools

Let's talk about screenwriting software.

Can you use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to type your screenplay? Sure.

Should you? Probably not.

It's crucial that you format your screenplay correctly, especially if you're planning to shop your screenplay around. Producers, directors, and actors all cringe at poorly formatted screenplays. Not only will it make your screenplay look more professional, but correct formatting will also make your screenplay easier to read and reference.

This is why you need to invest in a quality screenwriting software tool. Screenwriting software will format your script automatically so that you don't have to fool around with tabs or worry about setting indentations. It just makes the whole process a lot easier when using the right tool.

Here are a few screenwriting software tools to consider:

Learn the Mechanics of Screenwriting

While a screenwriting software tool will help you with the formatting side of things, it's important that you know the basics of writing a script.

Because filmmakers and moviegoers both expect a certain pattern of events from movies, many screenwriters abide by a popular formula known as the three-act structure. This structure breaks the script into three parts:

1. Act 1 - The setup

2. Act 2 - The confrontation where the protagonist must make a series of decisions

3. Act 3 - The resolution

Acts 1 and 3 each take up approximately 25 percent of the script. Act 2 takes up 50 percent of the script. For a more in-depth look at the three-act structure, check out this post on Elements of Cinema.

Additionally, start reading other screenplays to get a feel for the structure and cadence of a film script. Here's a good place to start: The 50 Best Screenplays to Read and Download in Every Genre.

To learn more about screenwriting in general, check out this post from Writers Store for an introductory guide to screenwriting.

Re-Read the Novel

Before you actually start writing, re-read your novel so that it's fresh in your mind. While you're definitely familiar with the story, there may be some elements that you've forgotten and want to emphasize in your screenplay.

It's actually pretty common for screenwriters to read a novel several times before deciding on the right angle for a screenplay. Doing so can help you identify the heart, tone, and pace of your story.

After reading through your novel, don't rush to write. Let the story sit with you for a while so that you can reflect on its themes, tone, and plot. You may need to change elements of the original story to make an understandable and enjoyable movie.

Choose the Main Storyline

Most novels are packed from cover to cover with a ton of information that can't possibly be condensed into a two-hour film. When adapting your novel, focus on the top 10 scenes that define your story from beginning to end. These are the scenes that can provide a condensed but accurate idea of your story and its theme(s). Think of them as the skeleton of your story. Your story simply wouldn't make sense if you dropped one of these scenes.

After choosing these core scenes, start to flesh out your story. How will you take the main characters, especially the protagonist, from scene one to scene 10? And while the external struggles are easy to identify, what internal struggles do your main characters have, and how can you best show this in your screenplay?

Your screenplay is made up of a series of scenes where the characters should be doing something, not just thinking silently while looking at a beautiful sunset. Every scene you write should move your characters towards the next core scene of your story.

Keep an Eye on Timing

Remember that each page of your screenplay translates into about one minute of screentime. Your goal is to write two hours worth of content, which is approximately 120 pages. Some pages, particularly those with lots of dialogue, may only take only 30 seconds. Others, like those with lots of action, can take several minutes to unfold.

Choose the Right Characters

When you're condensing your story into a screenplay, you may have to combine multiple characters to tell the best story. Don't hesitate to do so. I know you love certain characters. I know you don't want to kill them. But remember that your screenplay is a different beast than your novel, and you may need to tell the story slightly differently. Give yourself permission to do so.

For the characters that you do keep, ensure that each has an arc (i.e. an inner evolution that the character takes during the story) and that you complete their arc within the screenplay. If you do not have space to complete a character's arc, that's a telltale sign that you need to either combine the character with another one or eliminate that character altogether.

Kill your darlings.

Also, avoid adding too many characters to your screenplay. Your viewers will thank you. Viewers simply cannot invest as much time into your characters as your readers can, and so they'll get confused by a bloated cast of characters.

Trying to cram too many characters into your screenplay can also lead to shallow characterization and stereotypes.

Avoid Narration

You've written your novel in the first person, so it makes sense to add narration to your screenplay. Hold on just a second.

Voice-over is over-used and over-rated.

While voice-over can work in some films, many beginner screenwriters use voice-over as an easy way to sneak in "writing" instead of "showing." Remember that a movie is a visual feast. You must show what's happening instead of telling what's happening. Otherwise, your audience will lose interest quickly.

You can still rely on the narrator or protagonist's point of view when writing your screenplay. Just consider the scene from their eyes, as if they're holding the camera. What do they see, hear, and feel? Use visual clues, such as the setting, facial expressions, and voice tones to tell the full story.

Edit the Screenplay

Editing is a fact of life for all writers- novel writers and screenwriters. When adapting a novel into a screenplay, you'll need to edit a lot. You're whittling down a 200+ page novel into a 90-120 page screenplay. This requires you to cut out and rearrange as much as possible.

Avoid Directing

Screenwriting isn't the same thing as directing.

In your screenplay, don't add camera directions such as, "camera pans into face." The director is the one who decides camera angles. Instead, describe the scene. Show what you're seeing, but don't make decisions for how the director will shoot the scene.

Go Forth and Make Your Movie

Have the dream to adapt your book into a story, but don't know the right people?

Movies aren't just for Hollywood.

If you think your book is movie material, you don't have to wait for a big shot producer from Hollywood to come a-calling anymore. Some creatives with the passion and vision to see their words in action can turn from author to filmmaker. Just like self-publishing is a thing, you can also produce and show your own film in an actual movie theater or online. Here's more information from No Film School on how to show your movie in theaters.

Over to You

We want to hear from you. Would you like to turn your novel into a screenplay? Let us know in the comments below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Author's Guide to Turning a Novel Into a... | NY Book Editors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Would you like to turn your novel into a screenplay? Get comfortable. This is going to take a while. Writing a script isn't the same as writing a novel. It requires a totally different skill set. But fortunately, if you already have the talent, passion, and inclination to write, you can acquire the necessary skills to write your own movie.

# data[].attributes.body
+ Adaption to direction