Writers' room

A writers' room is a space where writers, usually of a television series, gather to write and refine scripts.^[1] It is a common method of writing television series in the US, but is much less widespread in countries like the UK.

Composition

The television industry has long had a collaborative model for writing shows, though not all shows use a writers' room.^[2][3] Historically the rooms were physical spaces. Increasingly these collaborations are done through video-conferencing.^[4]

With the explosion of scripted shows, and the competition among the networks and streaming channels, a "fluidity has developed to the way shows are created." The writers' room follows no single formula; it is an open-ended process with a range of set-ups. Room sizes vary from two to thirty, depending on the budget and number of episodes, each room with its own rules.^[5][1]

"Mini-rooms" exist for limited series and smaller shows, mostly those not yet approved.^[6] Mini-rooms consist of fewer writers than ordinary writers' rooms, who are paid less, and may not be employed for the duration of the production.^[7][8] The "proliferation" of mini-rooms in the 2020s, partly as a cost-cutting measure by producers, is one of the issues in the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.^[8]

Roles in writers' rooms

The showrunner runs the entire writers' room. They have overall responsibility for the entire series; they are in charge of the budget, scripts, crew, keeping actors happy and interacting with the studio or network. They are usually writers themselves and are generally listed as executive producers.^[9]

An executive producer is a writer and second in charge and may act on behalf of the showrunner.^[10]

Producers in television writer's rooms are typically writers who have moved up the room hierarchy. This group includes co-executive producers,^[11] supervising producers,^[12] co-producers and line producer.^[13] They are involved in script approvals, casting, production and creative direction.^[14][15] A line producer is a managerial position, and often not a writer.^[13][16]

Executive story editor is a mid-level writer in charge of groups of staff writers.^[10]

Staff writer is an entry level writing position, reserved for someone working on their first or second scripts.^[15]

Writers' assistant is one of the most coveted early-career jobs in the industry.^[17] The assistant takes notes in the room and interacts with the writers and creators. They learn the business from the inside and make contacts, hoping to be able to later move up the hierarchy. It is their job to make sure that no good ideas are lost, do research, produce web material and occasionally make creative pitches.^[15]

Production assistant is an entry level job, also hard to get. They run errands, make copies, get coffee and are described as the "legs" of the industry.^[18]

Writers as producers

On shows with a writers' room, the room does more than write; they cast, hire key crew, work on set design, and anything else a producer would do. A main writer of an episode will get credit as the writer. A producer credit for a series will generally be given to each member of the writing staff who made a demonstrable contribution to the final script. The pecking order determines the level of the credit.^[19] The actual producer of the show (in the traditional sense) is listed under the credit "produced by". Bill Lawrence, a television screenwriter, said that:

... the end credits of a TV show, it will say staff writer, story editor, executive story Editor, co-producer, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, executive producer. (While) (s)omeone else will (also) be executive producer because they help to run the room, every other title is just ... writer who's been here one year, writer who's been here two years, writer who's been here three years, ... and it's just a pay scale.^[20]

Notable writers' rooms

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (July 2022)

• I Love Lucy with Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf^[21]
• Your Show of Shows with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Woody Allen, Tony Webster, Lucille Kallen, Selma Diamond, Danny Simon, Mel Tolkin, Max Liebman, Sid Caeser and Neil Simon.^[22] Five years after the Holocaust and in the midst of the Blacklist (which frequently targeted Jewish writers)^[23] it has been noted that they were all Jewish except for Webster.^[24]
• The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour^[25] with Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, Rob Reiner,^[26] Mason Williams^[27] Pat Paulsen,^[28] Tony Webster,^[29] Ron Clark^[30] and Bob Einstein^[26]
• The Dana Carvey Show with Steve Carell, Louis C.K., Stephen Colbert, Robert Smigel, Robert Carlock, Jon Glaser, Dino Stamatopoulos and Dana Carvey^[31]
• The Dick Van Dyke Show with Carl Reiner, Garry Marshall, Sam Denoff, Sheldon Keller, Dale McRaven, John Whedon, and Jerry Belson.^[32]
• SCTV (1976–1981) with Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, and Dave Thomas.^[32]
• Saturday Night Live with Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Al Franken, Rob Smigel, Conan O'Brien, Bob Odenkirk, Gilda Radner and many others.^[32]
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (circa 1993-1994) with Tom Agna, Andy Richter, Conan O'Brien, Louis C.K., Bob Oldenkirk, Robert Smigel, and Dino Stamatopoulos.^[32]

In popular culture

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran on CBS from 1961–1967. One of the show's leading story lines centered on the work of television comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), the head writer for the fictional Alan Brady Show in New York. The show was based on Carl Reiner's life and was an early television depiction of a writers' room.^[33]

The Writers' Room was a 2013–2014 American television talk show hosted by screenwriter and actor Jim Rash. Each episode featured a behind-the-scenes look at the writing staff of popular television series.^[34][35]

In the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, stand-up comedian Midge Maisel is largely relegated to a writers' room.^[36]

The Writers Room, founded in 1978, is a workspace in New York City where writers work on their projects and have access to reference materials and fellow writers.^[37]

Shows without a writers' room

Not every show uses a writers' room - some shows, especially in the UK, where writers' rooms are rarely used, either use a single writer or hire freelancers on a per-episode basis.^[38][39][40]

Criticisms

Criticisms include lack of diversity, including age, gender, socio-economic and racial/ethnic backgrounds;^[41] hierarchical structure which leads to a toxic culture where junior writers are overlooked, abused and exploited; stress from long hours and high pressure to meet tight schedules; lack of credit for junior writers;^[42][43] lack of job security and need for a living wage;^[44] and, sexism.^[45]

References