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

Showrunners Training Gap Analysis
At the professional level, it needs to be recognized that being a mentor or a trainer is a demanding
role. Experienced Showrunners are generally oriented towards mentoring because of their strong
relationship skills; but they should have instruction and advice to help structure teaching
responsibilities and understand expectations.
An even bigger issue is, where do we get the trainers? The current small pool of professional
Showrunners is in huge demand to run series. How can they be persuaded to devote time to
training, either on-the-job or as course instructors? In order to develop the best talent to support
the industry in the future, we need the best possible trainers.
Training Gap 8: Experienced Showrunners are needed to instruct and mentor the emerging
group of Showrunners.
Recommendations:
8.1 Invest in the best possible trainers to develop new Showrunner talent. Be prepared to pay
professional rates to attract excellence in trainers.
8.2 Develop a cohort system whereby the first cohort trained is recruited to train subsequent
cohorts.
8.3 Train the trainers. Mentors and trainers need to understand the curriculum, the methods
and the expected outcomes in order to teach effectively.
8.4 Ensure that training institutions, including those at the entry level, understand what
competencies are required of a Showrunner so that students can receive appropriate
counselling.
CAPACITY AND MARKET
How big is the potential market for Showrunners in Canada?
In 2006/2007 there were 622 TV series in production in Canada in 2006/07, comprised of 97
fiction series projects totaling 776 hours (see Appendix G). From these statistics, it is not possible
to accurately extrapolate the market for Showrunners because the complexity, budget, origin and
nature of the series and the number of producer-related or similar functions per project are
unknown. All of these factors may affect the choice to hire a Showrunner on a project. However,
assuming that each Showrunnner could run approximately 20 hours of production annually, there
is a maximum market in Canada for 40 Showrunners.
In interviews, representatives of the WGC suggest that the actual market is for no more than 30
Showrunners based on the estimated number of scripted series in production. The WGC is of the
view that the pool of experienced and available Showrunners in English Canada needs to double,
which would also ensure a resource pool of instructors and mentors.
In Québec, based on the information gathered in our interviews, there could be room for about 4
or 5 new individuals taking up the role of a Showrunner annually. These could be producers who
are well versed in content creation, just as they could be “super scriptwriters”, or even senior
directors who have the ability to see and manage the production as a whole. This being said, there
are those who are uneasy with the prospect of such new workers, because they perceive them as
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Deborah Carver and Benoit Dubois, January 2009