Churning out 22 episodes a season may not appeal to today’s up and coming writers but there’s always been an upside to working on a broadcast TV show, insists uber-producer John Wells: it helps to create well-trained showrunners.While speaking at the HRTS Presidents Luncheon Tuesday with Power creator Courtney A.
Kemp and Netflix’s Head of Scripted Series Peter Friedlander, Wells lamented at how quickly many of today’s writers are getting promoted without them spending enough time on set.
He remembers how unthinkable it was for a young writer like himself to pitch a new show unless he spent at least seven years on a broadcast series.“That experience is really important to be able to succeed,” Wells said. “Now very talented people are being elevated into positions and they haven’t really had the experience to [learn] the managerial side of it.
And it’s only been made worse by COVID. Writers were not allowed to go on set. One thing the industry has to take responsibility in is making sure creators who become showrunners have the opportunity to get experience on shows.
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