Table of Contents
Running The Show, Television From the Inside, by Jeff Melvoin will be appreciated by aspiring writers, experienced writers and many others interested in filmmaking, as a lively, fun and informative read. Additionally this well-written, entertaining account provides an indispensable travel guide to the bewildering, and at times inhospitable, country known as television.
Jeff is a veteran writer/producer of numerous television series who, twenty years ago, conceived and created the Writers Guild’s successful Showrunner Training Program. The program fills an important gap in the evolution of TV executive producers, many of whom get elevated to the top job on a series primarily because of their writing skills but who lack the requisite understanding of physical production, pre-production, post-production, business, management, and leadership.
In Running The Show, Jeff shares much of the knowledge and information imparted during the training program, but the book offers much more. It takes a deep dive into the business of television through the author’s informed observations, detailing and illuminating, in particular, its transformations and mutations since the advent of cable and then streaming. Multiple chapters affirm and explain the pitfalls and difficulties of the writer’s journey in today’s
rugged television landscape. Thus, the book is a practical manual for all writers, from those who have yet to sell a first script to seasoned writer/producers, but importantly, every chapter in the book is imbued with a heartfelt respect for, and understanding of, all the other critical trades involved in creating film and television.
Even if you have zero ambition to ever become the showrunner of a television series – yes, it is quite possible to have a rich and fulfilling life without ever taking on that role – reading Jeff Melvoin’s fine book just might make you better at whatever craft you ply as a filmmaker.
