A television show creator or television program creator is the person who developed a significant part of a TV show's format, concept, characters, and pilot script. They have sequel rights to the material as well.
Often, the creator is also the showrunner or a producer. Sometimes it is a writer of the series bible, or writers' guidelines. [1] [ unreliable source? ] In the United States, a Writers Guild of America (WGA) screenwriting credit system governs credits. For example, the Writers Guild of America West provides specifications for creator credits that govern its members. [2] The Producers Guild of America's corresponding code for producers defines "Executive Producer" and similar roles but not an explicit "Creator" role. [3] [4] [ failed verification ]
Creator is a specific credit given explicitly in many shows. However, it has not always been a prominent, explicit credit. For example, Sydney Newman, the accepted creator of The Avengers (1961–69), was never given an explicit credit as creator; Newman never thought to ask for one. [5] The creator of a television show may retain rights to participate in profits, often to be paid by the production company as a percentage of fees that it receives from networks and distributors. [6] In 2014, for prime-time network TV shows, the WGA-required royalty to be paid to a writer with "created by" credit is approximately $1,000 per episode or higher. [7] Who merits creator credit is sometimes a matter of contention. In a 2013 legal case, a director sued a former writing partner for co-creator credit. [8]
Notable examples of creators include:
A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acceptance they focus on business matters, such as budgets and contracts. Other producers are more involved with the day-to-day workings, participating in activities such as screenwriting, set design, casting, and directing.
Brannon Braga is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. Best known for his work in the Star Trek franchise, Braga was a key creative force behind three of the franchise's live action series. He later became an executive producer and writer on several Fox shows including 24, Terra Nova, and The Orville. His film credits include Mission: Impossible 2, Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact.
Ryan Patrick Murphy is an American television writer, director, and producer. He has created and produced a number of television series including Nip/Tuck (2003–2010), Glee (2009–2015), American Horror Story (2011–present), American Crime Story (2016–present), Pose (2018–2021), 9-1-1 (2018–present), 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020–present), Ratched (2020), American Horror Stories (2021–present), and Monster (2022–present).
Narendra Kanakaiah "Naren" Shankar is an American writer, producer and director of several television series. He was co-showrunner of the Syfy/Amazon Prime Video series The Expanse. He was also co-showrunner on the long-running CBS crime drama CSI and Almost Human, among other series. As a writer and producer, Shankar has contributed with works for Farscape, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Night Visions, The Outer Limits, The Chronicle, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, seaQuest 2032, Grimm, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
David Crane is an American writer and producer. He is best known as one of the co-creators of the television sitcoms Friends and Episodes.
Paris K. C. Barclay is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television to date, for series such as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House, Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment, Glee, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Watcher, and American Horror Story: NYC. He also serves as an executive producer on many of the shows he directs, and occasionally as a writer or co-creator as well. From 2013 to 2017, Barclay served two terms as the President of the Directors Guild of America.
Bryan Elsley is a Scottish television writer, best known for the co-creation of E4 teen drama Skins with his son, Jamie Brittain. Other television dramas include Rose and Maloney, The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star, The Crow Road, Dates, and Kiss Me First.
Mike Sussman is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as a creator and executive producer of the TNT crime drama Perception, as well as a writer and producer of the Star Trek franchise.
Allison Beth Adler is a Canadian-American television producer and writer. She is the co-creator of Supergirl and The New Normal, and is also known for her work on Chuck and Family Guy.
Jeffrey Klarik is an American writer and producer. With his partner David Crane, Klarik co-created the award-winning BBC/Showtime comedy Episodes featuring Friends star Matt LeBlanc and Green Wing's Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig, the fifth and final series of which aired in 2017.
Bradley Douglas Falchuk is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the television series Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and Pose. He was also a writer and executive producer for Nip/Tuck and is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Ian Brennan is an American screenwriter, director and actor. He is known for his work on the American television shows Glee, Scream Queens, The Politician, and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The third season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on May 23, 2010, by Fox while the first season aired. It aired between September 20, 2011, and May 22, 2012, and was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.
"Pilot" is the first episode and the series premiere of the television series American Horror Story, which premiered on the network FX on October 5, 2011. The episode was co-written by series creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and directed by Murphy. Falchuk and Murphy had previously collaborated on the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee.
The first season of American Horror Story, retroactively subtitled Murder House, centers on the Harmon family, who, after dealing with a miscarriage and infidelity, move to a restored mansion in Los Angeles, unaware that the ghosts of its former residents and their victims haunt the house. The ensemble cast includes Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Denis O'Hare and Jessica Lange.
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is an American film and television director. He made his directorial film debut with the slasher film The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014). He has since directed the coming of age film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), and the historical drama The Current War (2017).
The fourth season of the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on April 9, 2012. It premiered on September 13, 2012, and is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.
Bradley Buecker is an American television and film director, producer, and editor. He is well known for his work with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for their series Glee and American Horror Story.
"2009" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 120th episode overall. Written by the show's co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan and directed by Paris Barclay, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 20, 2015, along with the next episode, "Dreams Come True", as a special two-hour season and series finale. The episode features a flashback from the show's pilot episode that explores the reasons why the original five members of the New Directions glee club decided to join.
Jess Brittain is a British television writer. She is best known as a writer for the Channel 4 TV series Skins, and as the creator, producer and writer for the web television thriller series Clique, streamed on BBC Three.