What do you think?
Rate this book
Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show
Collected from a truly expansive exploration of television’s most creative minds, Showrunners is an insider’s guide to creating and maintaining a hit show in today’s golden age of television. The official companion to the documentary Showrunners , this highly informative book features exclusive interviews with such acclaimed and popular showrunners as Joss Whedon, Damon Lindelof, Ronald D.Moore, Terence Winter, Bill Prady, Shawn Ryan, David Shore, and Jane Espenson.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
52 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Tara Bennett
30 books65 followersTara Bennett (formerly DiLullo) is the author or co-author of 30 official movie and TV companion books including The Story of Marvel Studios:
The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sons of Anarchy: The Official Companion, The Official Making of Outlander Companions (Seasons 1 - 4), The Lost Encyclopedia, and September's Notebook: A Fringe Companion which was an Amazon Best Book of the Year.
She has also written nearly a thousand interviews and features for print and online publications such as: Total Film, Paste Magazine, IGN, SYFY WIRE, LOST: The Official Magazine, Alias Magazine, 24 Magazine, SCI FI Magazine, WSJSpeakeasy, Fandango/Movies.com, Fancast, Newsarama and VFXWorld.com. She is also the U.S. Editor for the world’s premiere sci-fi/fantasy publication, SFX Magazine.
Tara is also an adjunct professor at Rowan University in New Jersey, teaching Film and Television studies. As part of her curriculum, Bennett utilizes programs such as LOST and 24 to teach her students how to write for television.
The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sons of Anarchy: The Official Companion, The Official Making of Outlander Companions (Seasons 1 - 4), The Lost Encyclopedia, and September's Notebook: A Fringe Companion which was an Amazon Best Book of the Year.
She has also written nearly a thousand interviews and features for print and online publications such as: Total Film, Paste Magazine, IGN, SYFY WIRE, LOST: The Official Magazine, Alias Magazine, 24 Magazine, SCI FI Magazine, WSJSpeakeasy, Fandango/Movies.com, Fancast, Newsarama and VFXWorld.com. She is also the U.S. Editor for the world’s premiere sci-fi/fantasy publication, SFX Magazine.
Tara is also an adjunct professor at Rowan University in New Jersey, teaching Film and Television studies. As part of her curriculum, Bennett utilizes programs such as LOST and 24 to teach her students how to write for television.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 30, 2015
The first 50% of this book was extraordinary. Then, as I got closer to the end, it was still good, but became a tad monotonous. The last 10-15% was rough. Very repetitive and very boring to get through.
Reasons to read this:
If you enjoyed the documentary, are interested in having a career in writing for television or were just curious about who is really in control of shows you love.
Reasons to avoid:
If you have no reason to go beyond the documentary, if you have no interest in who runs a show, or if you expect a thrilling, page turner filled with anything more than snippets of interviews.
I don't regret this book, heck I gave it three stars which means I liked it! If the ending had a bit more promise to it, perhaps did not just repeat a bunch of themes, then it would have easily gotten four. I wouldn't have anyone avoid this book, unless the subject matter really isn't interesting. It does read fast and it is very enjoyable overall.
Reasons to read this:
If you enjoyed the documentary, are interested in having a career in writing for television or were just curious about who is really in control of shows you love.
Reasons to avoid:
If you have no reason to go beyond the documentary, if you have no interest in who runs a show, or if you expect a thrilling, page turner filled with anything more than snippets of interviews.
I don't regret this book, heck I gave it three stars which means I liked it! If the ending had a bit more promise to it, perhaps did not just repeat a bunch of themes, then it would have easily gotten four. I wouldn't have anyone avoid this book, unless the subject matter really isn't interesting. It does read fast and it is very enjoyable overall.
June 14, 2018
Showrunners by Tara Bennett is a companion books to the documentary "Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show."
This book is written in a style of mini-interviews with people in the business. It covers their responsibilities, what they see as the future of the position, working with the "suits" at the networks, the differences of cable vs the broadcast networks, etc...
The book never gets too deep. But taking the culmination of a half-dozen answers of a few lines each to a question, still gives one a sense of the role and what it entails.
The appeal of this book will be vary narrow to those that just want a peek behind the curtain of those individuals who create and run our favorite TV shows.
Overall I enjoyed the insight and in seeing the hours they work, am amazed that anyone would want to take this on. It just goes to show, if you really have a drive to create and craft your own story, you will be willing to sacrifice your life to do it.
I think now when I watch what I enjoy, I will have a bit more appreciation for what goes into the production of these series.
This book is written in a style of mini-interviews with people in the business. It covers their responsibilities, what they see as the future of the position, working with the "suits" at the networks, the differences of cable vs the broadcast networks, etc...
The book never gets too deep. But taking the culmination of a half-dozen answers of a few lines each to a question, still gives one a sense of the role and what it entails.
The appeal of this book will be vary narrow to those that just want a peek behind the curtain of those individuals who create and run our favorite TV shows.
Overall I enjoyed the insight and in seeing the hours they work, am amazed that anyone would want to take this on. It just goes to show, if you really have a drive to create and craft your own story, you will be willing to sacrifice your life to do it.
I think now when I watch what I enjoy, I will have a bit more appreciation for what goes into the production of these series.
Read
August 16, 2017Very interesting insight of showrunning and the tv show industry.
As part of the more "engaged" part of the viewership, engaging in fandom activity for years it's good to have the "other side" pov.
It's funny this talks about how tv changes, and this book only being a couple of years old, it doesn't read as outdated but since it was actually written, tv changed again super fast!
Anyway, that was a good read to get a picture how this business works, all the different ways really, as each showrunner approaches the job differently.
This is a fascinating world that provides contents I love, I love tv shows and to consider all the hard work and politics involved does make you appreciate the works every person involved does.
As part of the more "engaged" part of the viewership, engaging in fandom activity for years it's good to have the "other side" pov.
It's funny this talks about how tv changes, and this book only being a couple of years old, it doesn't read as outdated but since it was actually written, tv changed again super fast!
Anyway, that was a good read to get a picture how this business works, all the different ways really, as each showrunner approaches the job differently.
This is a fascinating world that provides contents I love, I love tv shows and to consider all the hard work and politics involved does make you appreciate the works every person involved does.
February 27, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. Really great and informative testimonials from a collection of showrunners. A lot of the worries about the future of television is still relevant today, even if some stuff is outdated as the book is from 2014. A lot changes in 10 years. Its interesting to see what they were right about and what is still up in the airz
January 28, 2020
An excellent look into the TV industry and the typical work of the showrunner. It's a great read and adaptation of of the documentary.
Definitely good for those interested in writing for TV or becoming a showrunner.
Definitely good for those interested in writing for TV or becoming a showrunner.
November 2, 2020
Was REALLY informative! I thought I might like showrunning, but I think it takes a very special breed to do it. The format was a little meh for my reading style, but it's hard to think of how else they would have written it. I'm excited to watch the doc that goes along with it.
January 16, 2023
Really enjoyed this look at the rise of the TV showrunner over the last decade in particular with loads of great advice for those looking to become one themselves, writers exploring how to interact with them in writer’s rooms or TV historians. Dug the cool spread of shows and diversity in this.
February 18, 2017
Good insight, but essentially just a transcript of the documentary of the same name.
January 16, 2023
Interesting subject matter for the lay person, but not well written or interesting. And dated!
March 2, 2017
While a bit basic in the way it is organized, all of the interviews are a great insight into different perspectives on showrunning.
January 3, 2015
Eigenlijk wilde ik gewoon de documentaire zien. Maar ‘Showrunners’ bleek alleen op iTunes te staan als je in de Verenigde Staten of Groot Brittannië woont. Gelukkig was er ook een boek. Gek genoeg alleen op papier, maar wel te bestellen in Nederland gelukkig.
Showrunners zijn de schrijvers/producenten achter tv-series. Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly), Damen Lindelof (Lost), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) om er een paar te noemen. Deze drie en vele anderen werden geïnterviewd door Des Doyle, een Ierse schrijver/regisseur die over het fenomeen een (gecrowdfunde) documentaire maakte.
De belangrijkste reden waarom ik meer wil weten over showrunners is omdat ik een fan ben. Een fan van shows die niet alleen het televisielandschap veranderden, maar ook een belangrijke leerschool waren voor mij als schrijver. Want de invloed van series als ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ ‘Person of Interest’ en ‘Lost’ op mijn eigen Superhelden.nl trilogie is onmiskenbaar.
In het boek worden tientallen bekende en minder bekende showrunners geïnterviewd over hun vak, over het belang van een goed script, over hoe een seizoen van te voren wordt uitgedacht in de ‘writer’s room’ en hoe daarna individuele schrijvers de losse episodes schrijven. Over de bemoeizucht (positief en negatief) van de netwerken en de producenten, over de online fans, over de bizarre lange dagen/weken/maanden die deze mensen maken om een tv-serie te creëren en over de toekomst van televisie, in wat voor vorm dan ook. Fascinerend om te lezen.
Een andere reden om het boek te lezen, was omdat ik zelf al jaren droom van het maken van een eigen tv-serie. Ik realiseer mij na het lezen van ‘Showrunners’ wel dat dit een enorme klus is. Het meest Waanzinnige Plan ooit. En dat we de structuur ervoor ontberen in Nederland, op dit moment.
Aan de andere kant staat de hele structuur wereldwijd op losse schroeven. Of zoals James Duff, showrunner van ‘The Closer’ en ‘Major Crime’ aan het eind van het boek zegt: ‘We are like dinosaurs regarding the meteor from afar. The meteor is coming. Some people are planning for the next evolutionary process and some people are just eating tree leaves as fast as they can.’
En in dat opzicht lijkt wat er gebeurd in televisieland wel heel erg op wat er gebeurt in ons mooie boekenvak. Daarom is ‘Showrunners’ niet alleen een aanrader voor liefhebbers van goede tv, maar ook voor schrijvers en uitgevers.
http://www.showrunnersthemovie.com/
Showrunners zijn de schrijvers/producenten achter tv-series. Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly), Damen Lindelof (Lost), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) om er een paar te noemen. Deze drie en vele anderen werden geïnterviewd door Des Doyle, een Ierse schrijver/regisseur die over het fenomeen een (gecrowdfunde) documentaire maakte.
De belangrijkste reden waarom ik meer wil weten over showrunners is omdat ik een fan ben. Een fan van shows die niet alleen het televisielandschap veranderden, maar ook een belangrijke leerschool waren voor mij als schrijver. Want de invloed van series als ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ ‘Person of Interest’ en ‘Lost’ op mijn eigen Superhelden.nl trilogie is onmiskenbaar.
In het boek worden tientallen bekende en minder bekende showrunners geïnterviewd over hun vak, over het belang van een goed script, over hoe een seizoen van te voren wordt uitgedacht in de ‘writer’s room’ en hoe daarna individuele schrijvers de losse episodes schrijven. Over de bemoeizucht (positief en negatief) van de netwerken en de producenten, over de online fans, over de bizarre lange dagen/weken/maanden die deze mensen maken om een tv-serie te creëren en over de toekomst van televisie, in wat voor vorm dan ook. Fascinerend om te lezen.
Een andere reden om het boek te lezen, was omdat ik zelf al jaren droom van het maken van een eigen tv-serie. Ik realiseer mij na het lezen van ‘Showrunners’ wel dat dit een enorme klus is. Het meest Waanzinnige Plan ooit. En dat we de structuur ervoor ontberen in Nederland, op dit moment.
Aan de andere kant staat de hele structuur wereldwijd op losse schroeven. Of zoals James Duff, showrunner van ‘The Closer’ en ‘Major Crime’ aan het eind van het boek zegt: ‘We are like dinosaurs regarding the meteor from afar. The meteor is coming. Some people are planning for the next evolutionary process and some people are just eating tree leaves as fast as they can.’
En in dat opzicht lijkt wat er gebeurd in televisieland wel heel erg op wat er gebeurt in ons mooie boekenvak. Daarom is ‘Showrunners’ niet alleen een aanrader voor liefhebbers van goede tv, maar ook voor schrijvers en uitgevers.
http://www.showrunnersthemovie.com/
December 25, 2022
I read this book for a Writing for Television class. The professor astutely said that any book about the television industry will inevitably be out of date in a year or two. However, there's always something to be learned from people's experiences, and that's what this book is, through and through: showrunners talking about their experiences. It's fragmented, it jumps around, and the conclusions that each interviewed showrunner draws from their experiences conflict with each other, but I think that's the point. There is no one way to make it in this industry, and it feels good to get a sense of the options rather than to be told, "This is the only way to succeed." I finished this book feeling like I had the chance to network a little bit with all the showrunners in this book, and for me, that's valuable.
December 16, 2014
A fascinating read for anyone who is a fan of television or screenwriters. The book really delves into the business we call show. The fact that several of my fave writers/showrunners are interviewed might make me somewhat biased but I believe anyone who loves tv as much as I do (and especially those who want to work in the field) will enjoy this.
January 25, 2015
3.5. Great interviews with smart showrunners.
January 10, 2017
Really good look at the showrunning process and how it is done.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews