A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over the production, and the executive producer's role is limited to investing. In scripted comedy and drama TV shows, the showrunner also usually serves as the head writer. The role of a showrunner is not present on all television series, especially outside the US; this article describes the nature of the role where it is present.
Jason Katims is an American television writer, producer, and playwright. He is best known as the creator of several television series, including Relativity (1996), Roswell (1999–2002), Friday Night Lights (2006–2011), Parenthood (2010–2015), About a Boy (2014–2015) and Rise (2018).
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Shannon Rutherford is a fictional character played by Maggie Grace on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicled the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Shannon was introduced in the pilot episode as the stepsister of fellow crash survivor Boone Carlyle. She was a series regular until her funeral in "What Kate Did". For most of her time on the Island, she was unhelpful and spent much of her time sunbathing. She formed a relationship with another survivor from the plane crash, Sayid Jarrah. Shannon was accidentally shot and killed by Ana Lucia Cortez, who mistakes her for an Other.
Shonda Lynn Rhimes, is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2005–present), its spin-off Private Practice (2007–2013) and the political thriller Scandal (2012–2018), becoming the first woman to create three television dramas that have achieved the 100 episode milestone.
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character who was played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford. He tries to contribute as much as he can to the safety of the castaways and eventually becomes John Locke's protégé.
Arthur Carlton Cuse is an American screenwriter, showrunner, producer, and director, best known for the American television series Lost, for which he made the Time list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.
Hart Hanson is an American-born television writer and producer, as well as an author. He is best known as the creator, executive producer, and writer of the TV series Bones.
"Pilot" is the two-part television pilot of the ABC television series Lost, with part 1 premiering on September 22, 2004, and part 2 one week later on September 29. Both parts were directed by J. J. Abrams, who co-wrote the script with series co-creator Damon Lindelof. Jeffrey Lieber, who had been commissioned by ABC to write the first version of the script, earned a story credit. Filmed in Oahu, Hawaii, it was the most expensive pilot episode up to that time, costing between $10 and $14 million, largely due to the expense of purchasing, shipping, and dressing a decommissioned Lockheed 1011 to represent Flight 815's wreckage. Many changes were made during the casting process, including the selected actors, the characters' behaviors and fates.
Terence Patrick Winter is an American writer and producer of television and film. He was the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014). Before creating Boardwalk Empire, Winter was a writer and executive producer for the HBO television series The Sopranos, from the show's second to sixth and final season (2000–2007).
Matthew Hoffman Weiner is an American television writer, producer, and director best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series Mad Men, and as a writer and executive producer on The Sopranos.
Edward Lawrence Kitsis is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series Lost and Once Upon a Time.
Jeff Pinkner is an American television and movie writer and producer.
Daniel Cerone is a television writer and executive producer. His credits include Dexter, where he served as showrunner, along with The Blacklist, The Mentalist, Dirty Sexy Money and Charmed. He was the co-creator of Constantine, the critically acclaimed adaptation of the DC comics Vertigo series Hellblazer, which developed a cult following. He also created and executive produced Clubhouse, the CBS baseball drama, as well as the ABC police procedural Motive.
Clyde B. Phillips is an American film producer, television writer, television producer, and novelist.
Lost is an American science fiction adventure drama television series created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof that aired on ABC from September 22, 2004, to May 23, 2010, with a total of 121 episodes over six seasons. It contains elements of supernatural fiction, and follows the survivors of a commercial jet airliner flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, after the plane crashes on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean. Episodes typically feature a primary storyline set on the island, augmented by flashback or flashforward sequences which provide additional insight into the involved characters.
Melinda Hsu is an American television writer and producer, co-creator and showrunner of Tom Swift and showrunner of Nancy Drew for the CW Network.
Paul Zbyszewski is an American television writer and producer. He has worked in both capacities on the series Lost and Day Break, and he is the creator of Day Break. He also wrote the feature film After the Sunset.
Jean Higgins is an American television and film producer. She has worked on the series Lost and CSI: Miami. She won an Emmy Award for outstanding drama series at the September 2005 ceremony for her work on the first season of Lost. She also won a Producers Guild of America Award for television producer of the year in episodic for the first season.
Jennifer M. Johnson is an American television writer and producer.
