Television Producer

A television producer is a person who oversees all 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.

There are a variety of different producers on a television show. A traditional producer is one who manages a show's budget and maintains a schedule, but this is no longer the case in modern television.

Different types of producers in the industry today include (in order of seniority):

In live television or "as-live", an executive producer seldom has any operational control of the show. His/her job is to stand back from the operational aspects and judge the show as an ordinary viewer might.

In film or video productions, the executive producer is almost always given an opportunity to comment on a rough cut, but the amount of attention paid to his/her comments is highly dependent on the overall personnel structure of the production.

Because of the restrictions the Writers Guild of America screenwriting credit system places on writing credits, many script writers in television are credited as "producers" instead, even though they may not engage in the responsibilities generally associated with that title. On-screen, a "producer" credit for a TV series will generally be given to each member of the writing staff who made a demonstrable contribution to the final script. The actual producer of the show (in the traditional sense) is listed under the credit "produced by".

Bill Lawrence, a television screenwriter, producer, director and series creator (Scrubs, Cougar Town and Spin City) explained during an interview on Off Camera that:

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