Kelly Jo Brick – Women Who Run The Room

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Photo courtesy of the Writers Guild Foundation

by Kelly Jo Brick

The Writers Guild Foundation brought together The Women Who Run The Room, a panel of showrunners who discussed the ins and outs of running a television show. The evening highlighted their experiences through the years including the challenges they’ve faced, how they developed their management style and what they look for when building their rooms.

DEVELOPING A MANAGEMENT STYLE AS A SHOWRUNNER

I sort of climbed every rung so I’ve seen every level in the business, starting out as a PA and working my way up. I’ve worked with some remarkable showrunners and was most helped by the John Wells school of showrunning, having spent five years on ER. The way that he did it was a lot of delegating and trusting in your people and letting people experience and produce their episodes and be in editorial. I think that’s an effective way to get people to work all in, interested in learning and loyal to you. – Dee Johnson (ER, THE GOOD WIFE, NASHVILLE) read article

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 12/17/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Mike Kelly (REVENGE) has a new overall deal with HBO after being fired from REVENGE, which has had declining ratings. (Proving that he’s a heck of a good guy in the room, no? We mean as well as being a brilliant writer who isn’t necessarily in tune with audience desires…which pretty much describes exactly what HBO is all about, which, FTR, we do not think is a bad thing.)
  • Alex Taub (DROP DEAD DIVA) is adapting Carl Hiaasen’s novel, Basket Case, into a drama series for Spike TV. (Carl Hiaassen! On TV! Finally! TVWriter™ congratulates Spike TV for finally moving in a direction we approve of. And you know how important our congratulations – and approval – are, don’tcha? Yeah, we’re afraid we know the true answer to that too. Sigh…)
  • Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn (HAVEN) are adapting Stephen King’s short story “New York Times at Bargain Rates” into a series for ABC. (How good will this be? We figure that’s in inverse proportion to Mr. King’s active participation. Hey, we love the guy’s writing, but every time he pokes his verbiage into the screen versions…)
  • Patrick Moss & Jeremy Anderson (GREAT EXPECTATIONS) are writing KING DAVID, a to-be-syndicated series featuring a take that’s likely to raise hella hackles among Bible fans. (What? You don’t think anybody will object to what the PR is describing as “a mafia show in biblical clothing?” What planet are you on?)
  • Lizzy Weiss (SWITCHED AT BIRTH) is developing INTO THIN AIR, a so-called “family drama,” for ABC family. (Just in case you still thought ABC family was really for, you know, families, this is further described as having “thriller elements.” Just what you want to sit down with your kids to watch, right?)