Remember 30 ROCK? Reality is worse. “It’s just a fucking grind”, says one of the showrunners and man, does he mean it. SHOWRUNNERS is the title of Irish director Des Doyle‘s début documentary movie, and it is a new word for the new hybrid species of TV producer/manager/writer who set out to conquer the audiences only Hollywood cinema productions used to have.
In SHOWRUNNERS we get some invaluable backstage insight into how TV and cable companies start, run and end (or ditch) shows from LOST to STAR TREK TNG, from SPARTACUS to HOUSE OF LIES and from MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE to RIZZOLI & ISLES (to only name a few in here). Failure is so close to success, working hours are a madness and the jobs of the entire team are at stake, at any time. No wonder that “burnout rate is at 100 %”, as Bill Prady (BIG BANG THEORY) puts it with a fine smile. SHOWRUNNERS director Des Doyle learned his ropes as a cinematographer, and he has had a terrific team working on this movie. I have to have this film as soon as its available – hell, every film school and TV aficionado needs to learn it by heart. And, by the way, after my interview with Des Doyle, I’ll need to rethink my decision not to buy Season 7 of my beloved TrueBlood. Only now I guess I might shift at least part of the blame for a final episode I hated to someone I’m going to strangle (or question) personally, if I ever get hold of them.
Be the first to comment