As Broadcast TV Dies, Where Will New Writers and Show Runners Come From?

[PGage]

Zack Stentz, a TV writer (e.g.  “Fringe,” & “The Flash”) had an opinion piece in the LAT today arguing that the unappreciated consequences of the migration from broadcast to streaming are 1) a significant reduction in the size of writers rooms (from like 10-12 to around 6) and 2) a disconnection between writing and production. 

Streaming shows tend to have fewer episodes, often written mostly or entirely by the Creator, and often all the episodes are written before the show starts production, meaning that only the main writer/show runner is around during production, to work with actors and deal with budgets and production problems. Stentz worries that this will mean that in a few years very few writers will have the kinds of experiences that allow them to work their way up the ladder to run their own shows. He says there are already examples of Creator/Show runners not being able to get scripts produced on budget and time due to inexperience, and (somewhat inexplicably to me) states that there will be less diversity of writing voices, I guess as the few experienced writers make more of the shows (but, really, with there being so much more content demanded to feed the streaming monster?).

The concern about fewer episodes and smaller writing staffs I guess is expected in any field experiencing rapid transition. And he accurately points out that several of the Golden Age TV Creators learned their craft on the assembly line of broadcast TV. However, as has often been observed on this list over the years, the quality of American television has not always been well served by having bloated, 20+ episode seasons.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-27/broadcast-television-tv-writers-streaming

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile