Showrunners - Training Gaps Analysis - Cultural Human Resources ...

Showrunners Training Gap Analysis
I’d love to work with a Showrunner. It would allow us to make better TV series. I’d love to only
make three episodes and to have a month to prepare each episode. But now, I’m racing against
the clock to direct twelve. (a Québécois director)
A few of those who did not see relevance in bringing in a Showrunner, had this to say:
From my experience, working with a Showrunner isn’t very interesting. The interesting work is to
be the Showrunner. It’s more or less what I do as a director. I believe it would be difficult to
integrate the concept of a Showrunner in Québec. (a Québécois director)
I don’t believe the tasks and competencies of a Showrunner are realistic. It’s too much for one
person. Nor do I believe Showrunners are necessary in Québec. The creative sphere is its own,
very different world. It seems that these are two parallel professions. There are all the creative
professions that align themselves with the director, and the others that have more to do with
technical and production concerns. (a Québécois educator)
One interesting development in Québec is the double shoot, concurrently shooting French and
English versions of a series on the same set with different writing teams. In this case, a
Showrunner may be brought in to lead the English writing room. In the rare case that a producer
does bring in a Showrunner on a double shoot, or where the production is particularly large, the
role of the Showrunner concerns mainly the management of the writing team.
All in Québec agree on the necessity of a comprehensive viewpoint that takes into account both
the artistic dimension and the financial imperatives. However, the Showrunner competencies are
shared among the producer, the director and, in some cases, the head writer, with an emphasis on
the responsibilities of the director. The most recent collective agreement signed by the
Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ) has in fact increased the authority
of the director.
Although the typical production model in Québec does not normally include a Showrunner, there
is a need to marry the artistic with the financial professional profiles.
Ideally, a training program would instil a global vision of all areas of production. Training that
ensures that candidates coming out of the program have set foot in pretty much all the areas of
production, learning their workings from beginning to end. Here in Québec, everything is very
compartmentalized. A producer is a producer; a director is a director; and so on. The ideal
program would rise above this, and cover all areas. It’s essential that students see the importance
of each sector. (a Québécois producer)
THE ESSENTIAL CORE COMPETENCIES OF A SHOWRUNNER
In order to develop a framework for training a pool of Showrunner talent, it is helpful to
understand which competencies are at the core of the role. Interviewees identified three broad
core competency areas:
1. Writing
2. Translating writing into the visual medium of television
3. Organizational management
In a sense, these competencies are dependent on each other like the three points of a triangle. At
the centre of the triangle is personal aptitude for the role. Whoever is entrusted with the vision of
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Deborah Carver and Benoit Dubois, January 2009