Showrunners

There is something a little perverse, as television shows become more and more cinematic, to head to your profit-struggling local cinema to watch a documentary telling you how great TV is and why you should be at home watching it. But when this movie has talking heads from the likes of Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jonathan Nolan and Ray Romano, as well as some producers who are probably themselves less of a household name, but their shows – Sons Of Anarchy, Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife, Spartacus, The Big Bang Theory, etc – are some of the biggest around, then this automatically becomes a must-see for any fans of the current golden age of TV.

First-time director Des Doyle has amassed a seriously heavyweight cast, jumping up quite a bit from his previous career of assistant cameraman for Irish-shot movies, and shows a deft hand at telling a detailed, potentially dry story in a hugely interesting and entertaining way. Injecting just enough detailed, behind-the-scenes action with just the right amount of marque-name interviews, Doyle mixes and matches the multitude of programmes, all against the spine of one particular new show – House Of Lies – as it progresses from the writer’s room to the soundstage to the premiere airing date.

Those in the know may already be aware of the heady position of showrunner, but those that won’t will be left aghast at the volume of spinning plates they manage to keep going, the absolute exhaustive nature of being so intrinsically involved in every aspect of a show’s creativity, and the all invasive nature that each show’s success or failure can have on one person’s career.

While the zip-along nature of the doc won’t let your mind sit still long enough to ask some pertinent questions that the film itself skims over, but it does bring attention to the fact that the movie’s point was well made about an hour in, and we’ve still got another half hour to go. Still though, when that half hour is filled with famous people talking about their famous shows filled with even more famous people, you’ll probably find it in your heart to forgive the lack of judicious editing.