Running With The Sons

I'M NOT THE first to notice this, but in case you haven't seen it elsewhere, Kurt Sutter from Sons of Anarchy has one of the best descriptions of the job of Showrunning in toto, that I've ever read.

As you read, please note the places where there's room for variation.  Every writing room is run differently.  You can have a staff where the showrunner rewrites all, or one where the communication is good enough that writers can do meaningful second drafts. There are shows where the senior writers aren't rewritten as much because their scripts are closer; I've found shows where the Writer follows their ep through production and becomes sort of the showrunner proxy is a good way to delegate.  But it's not the only way to do it.

If you're partnered with a Director (like Tommy Schlamme on West Wing or Pamela Fryman on How I Met Your Mother) maybe you don't spend as much time in editing.  Or maybe you don't care as much about wardrobe. You can split up duties anyway you want.

Sometimes you have a second that runs the writing room for you.  Sometimes you come in with the whole season figured out in your head and you pitch it to the staff; sometimes it's vague and you let the staff pitch to you.

Sometimes (and I think, ideally) it's your show. Sometimes it's somebody else's and you're there to execute it.  There are lots and lots of variations. But there are two things that I think are common to all the iterations, when a show works:

Communication.  The showrunner sets the tone, and others succeed or fail as well, by how well they can communicate with each other.  Being able to articulate concerns and questions; being able to visualize problems eight weeks out instead of day after tomorrow and come up with workable solutions is key. So is being able to listen when your Producer speaks budget to you, and to come up with ingenious creative fixes without compromising content...Being able to inspire confidence and also to trust that there aren't factions or Producers squabbling behind your back, that in fact, everybody is pulling in the same direction -- the direction that you are setting...all that is what we mean when we talk about the second essential component:

Having a Vision.  It's easy to come up with an idea for a show. Ideas are cheap like borscht.  The tough thing is being able to see that idea through to a finished episode, season, or series. Having the experience to know what is important and what's not, where you can compromise and where you can't, what's essential and what's not.  Remember, you've got forty people running around. Actors think their role is the most important.  Production Designers think their needs are greatest. To propmasters it's about stuff. Wardrobe, Hair, Makeup -- all view the show through their prism.  It's your job to conceive and communicate how they fit into the orchestra that is your show.   That is what vision means. Or should anyway.

Anyhow. Go read Sutter.