Show Runners

Employers

Show runners work for the major television and cable networks; digital streaming providers such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon; and small production companies.

Starting Out

This is not an entry-level position. Many show runners worked their way up to this position by starting out in entry-level writer’s assistant positions in the writer’s room, and then gradually being promoted (staff writer, story editor, head writer) to higher-level positions that lead to a job as a producer (co-producer, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, and executive producer) and then a show runner position. Others break into the field after working outside the writer’s room as production assistants, directors, or in other positions. Some show runners break into the field after working as executive producers, directors, and screenwriters in the motion picture industry.

Those who are interested in becoming show runners should approach production companies about employment opportunities as a production assistant or writer’s assistant. Job leads can also be obtained by contacts made through internships and one’s college professors. This is a “clubby” industry, so getting an entry-level job often comes down to whom you know.