The Showrunners: A Season Inside the Billion-Dollar, Death-Defying, Madcap World of Television's Real Stars

by David Wild

Book Overview

By spending the last full TV season of the twentieth century in the company of television's real stars-the writers and producers of America's most popular shows -bestselling author David Wild got the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060193786
• ISBN13: 9780060193782
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great TV Book That Is Well Worth Reading Even Outside L.A.

It starts with "He's a pinball wizard" and ends with "it turns out that there are other things ro run besides TV shows". This is is great story about the TV industry that has quickly reached best seller proportions in Hollywood. It deserves to be read by anyone with a TV set. Great interviews and insight into the business and the mindset of TV showrunners.

Great Reality Check of TV

Fresh, astute, and straight on look at what TV is made of by a respected reviewer of the scene. Get away from the set and read this book!

Excellent read--all you want to know about t.v.!

One of the best books I've read in a long time. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the entertainment industry. I highly recommend it.

A Must-Read For TV Lovers!

It's tough to find a good book about the real inner-workings of television. Few people have the access, and when they do, it's often one-sided and tough to see the whole picture. But David Wild's "Showrunners" is one of the few that not only manages a balanced look at the inner-sanctum of TV, but a broad view as well. This book is great for newcomers, who can find a heavy doses of reality in the tales of producers of shows like "Cupid" and "NewsRadio," and should be an interesting look at the biz for the professional, who sometimes can lose sight of all the individual stories that exist in the television industry. Are there slow parts? A few. But with insights into the inner-workings of shows like "7th Heaven," "Will & Grace," "Dilbert," "7 Days," "Friends," "Cupid," "NewsRadio" and "It's like, you know..." (among others), there's just about something for everyone here. A must-read!

Super Background on the Creation of a Television Season

Insightful, interesting description of how a TV season is made and unmade. Well-told with great characters and storylines. Compelling general interest read.