Category: SHOWRUNNER
Family misfortunes
Tout va bien (Everything is Fine) creator Camille de Castelnau tells DQ about stepping into the showrunning hot seat for the first time on her own series, which follows a family dealing with the fallout from a devastating medical diagnosis.
Getting to know Elsbeth
The Good Fight attorney Elsbeth Tascioni gets her own series in CBS crime drama Elsbeth. Showrunner Jonathan Tolins breaks down the origins of the show, his relationship with the character and the evergreen comfort of the murder-mystery genre.
Uncharted waters
Finland’s Miikko Oikkonnen offers DQ an insight into his career and his writing process before discussing his approach to dramatising a real-life ferry disaster in factual drama Estonia.
Tracing Descendants
Icelandic series Descendants marks the showrunning debut of actor, writer and director Tinna Hrafnsdóttir. She tells DQ about the dysfunctional family drama and why she wants to create connections with the audience.
In the driving seat
Showrunner Eugen Tunik tells DQ how he wanted to look at the Ukraine war from a new angle with In Her Car, in which a therapist takes her clinic on the road to help a number of characters in distress.
Catering for demand
Mrs Sidhu Investigates introduces Meera Syal’s high-end caterer with a side gig in solving crimes. Creator and writer Suk Pannu tells DQ how he brought the radio drama to Acorn TV and why cosy murder mysteries are back in fashion.
Baring her Soul
Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić opens up about creating her first television series, legal drama Znam Kako Dišeš (I Know Your Soul), becoming a showrunner and the differences between big- and small-screen directing.
An irresistible offer
DQ gets dangerously close to Fatal Attraction showrunner Alexandra Cunningham to find out why she couldn’t ignore the chance to take on Paramount+’s reimagining of the 1987 thriller and how she sought to explore the story from alternative viewpoints.
Building Citadel
US spy thriller Citadel is the first of a planned series of interconnected stories set around the world. Showrunner David Weil tells DQ about developing the drama and his collaboration on the ambitious, action-packed global franchise with partners in India and Italy.
Devlin’s Ark
Science-fiction grandee Dean Devlin welcomes DQ aboard The Ark, his latest series, to discuss how it’s a love letter to the genre and share the lessons he has learned from a career that has included Stargate, Independence Day and Leverage.
The Joy of sci-fi
The trip to Westworld may be over, but co-creator, showrunner and Series Mania jury president Lisa Joy is now watching the rise of AI play out in the real world. As she explains, there’s not much fiction in science-fiction anymore.
Graphic details
Comic book author Jeff Lemire stepped into the role of showrunner for the first time to adapt his graphic novel trilogy Essex County for Canada’s CBC. He discusses world-building, swapping solitary creative endeavours for collaborative ones and why a multi-season adaptation didn’t feel right.
Joining the Carnival
Carnival Row showrunner Erik Oleson tells DQ about taking over Prime Video’s fantasy drama for its second season, balancing story with special effects and building the show’s finale.
Delivering justice
Netflix Indian original Trial by Fire dramatises the 25-year court battle fought by one couple after dozens of people died in a devastating cinema fire. Showrunner Prashant Nair discusses the effects of the real-life tragedy and the task of bringing a fictionalised version to the screen.
A different galaxy
Showrunner Tony Gilroy tells DQ how he endeavoured to take the Star Wars franchise in a new direction – away from Jedi, the Force and Skywalkers – with Disney+’s Andor, the series prequel to hit feature film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Honor system
As the showrunner of Israeli series Kvodo, Ron Ninio has seen his show adapted around the world – most famously as US drama Your Honor. He discusses the origins of the original format and why it has been successfully translated all over the globe.
Stuck on Suzie
While working on the latest season of Succession, writer Lucy Prebble found time to reunite with best friend Billie Piper for I Hate Suzie Too, a sequel to the 2020 drama. She tells DQ about showrunning, truthful writing and the demands of creating a fictional dance competition.
All at sea
From the creators of Dark comes 1899, a mystery series set aboard a passenger ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. DQ speaks to Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar about their love of puzzles and how the show was made in a virtual production studio.
Full English
Writer-director Hugo Blick opens up about his latest drama, Emily Blunt-led series The English, how he sought to reimagine the Western genre and why he compares himself and Blunt to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Fed up
Four years after the launch of ABC police procedural The Rookie, showrunner Alexi Hawley is preparing for the launch of spin-off series The Rookie: Feds. He discusses how the show was born, its theme of second chances and partnering with star Niecy Nash.