Editing Showrunner (section)

==United Kingdom==
In the first decade of the 21st century, the concept of a ''showrunner'', specifically interpreted as a writer or presenter with overall responsibility for a television production, began to spread to the [[television in the United Kingdom|British television industry]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Britain's got talent – and it's untouchable |first=Mark |last=Lawson |author-link=Mark Lawson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/22/mondaymediasection2 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=October 22, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}</ref> "Nonetheless, the show runner production model is still less common in drama production in the UK" than it is in the U.S., scholars Ruth McElroy and Caitriona Noonan wrote in 2019.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McElroy |first1=Ruth |last2=Noonan |first2=Caitriona |title=Producing British television drama : local production in a global era |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |location=London |isbn=9781137578754 |page=57 }}</ref>

The first British comedy series to use the term was ''[[My Family]]'' (2000–11), which had several showrunners in succession. Initially, the show was overseen by creator Fred Barron from series 1–4. Ian Brown and James Hendrie took over for series 5, followed by American writer [[Tom Leopold]] for series 6. Former ''[[Cheers]]'' showrunner Tom Anderson was in charge from series 7 to the final series, series 11.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/my_family/trivia/|title=My Family|work=comedy.co.uk}}</ref>

The first writer appointed the role of showrunner on a British primetime drama was [[Tony McHale]], writer and creator of ''[[Holby City]]'', in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Holby City exec producer to leave |first=John |last=Plunkett |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/dec/14/hoby-city-exec-producer-leave |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=December 14, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}</ref> [[Jed Mercurio]] had carried out a similar role on the less conspicuous medical drama ''[[Bodies (2004 TV series)|Bodies]]'' (2004–2006).<ref name=Guardian>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Maggie|title=Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/09/line-of-duty-jed-mercurio|date=10 February 2014}}</ref> But [[Russell T Davies]]' work on the 2005 revival of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' brought the term to prominence in [[British television]] (to the extent that in 2009 a writer for ''The Guardian'' wrote that "Over here, the concept of 'showrunner' has only made it as far as ''Doctor Who''").<ref>{{cite news |title=Is ''Heroes'' lost without its superman? |first=Dan |last=Martin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/jun/24/television-science-fiction |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=June 24, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}</ref>

In an interview, Davies said that he felt the role of the showrunner was to establish and maintain a consistent tone in a drama.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Davies |first=Russell T |subject-link=Russell T Davies |interviewer=[[Mark Lawson]] |title=Mark Lawson Talks to... |publisher=[[BBC Four]] |date=January 16, 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4GHxx1DOVg | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211104/m4GHxx1DOVg| archive-date=2021-11-04 | url-status=live|access-date=April 27, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''Doctor Who'' remains the most prominent example of a British television programme with a showrunner, with [[Steven Moffat]] having taken over the post from Davies from 2010 until 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/paul_cornell_2.shtml |title=Paul Cornell interview |year=2008 |work=BBC Writersroom |publisher=BBC |access-date=April 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124153013/http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/paul_cornell_2.shtml |archive-date=January 24, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} Interviewer refers to ''Doctor Who'' as "...one of the few UK series with a showrunner".</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Steven Moffat: The man with a monster of a job |first=Gareth |last=McLean |author-link=Gareth McLean |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/mar/22/stephen-moffat-doctor-who |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 22, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}</ref> [[Chris Chibnall]] later took over from Moffat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/55e94ef2-0282-494f-a62c-82bd514f02fe|title=Steven Moffat stands down and Chris Chibnall to take over|date=2016-01-23|website=Doctor Who|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-04-10}}</ref> Davies returned, following Chibnall's departure. The term has also been used to refer to other writer-producers, such as [[Cash Carraway]] on [[Rain Dogs (TV series)|Rain Dogs]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ritman |first=Alex |date=2024-06-14 |title='Rain Dogs' Creator Cash Carraway Signs With CAA (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/cash-carraway-rain-dogs-caa-1236037806/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Tony Jordan]] on ''[[Moving Wallpaper]]'' and ''[[Echo Beach (soap)|Echo Beach]]'', Ann McManus on ''[[Waterloo Road (TV series)|Waterloo Road]]'', [[Adrian Hodges]] on ''[[Primeval (TV series)|Primeval]]''<ref>{{cite news |title=Twice the drama at ITV |first=Jason |last=Deans |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/nov/20/broadcasting.ITV  |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=November 20, 2006 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}<br />{{cite news |title=Melodrama class |first=Peter |last=Wilby |author-link=Peter Wilby |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/03/ann-mc-manus-bbc-waterloo-road |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 3, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}<br />{{cite news |title=ITV1 saves Primeval from extinction after deal with digital channel Watch |first=Leigh |last=Holmwood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/sep/29/primeval-itv1-watch-deal-recommissioned |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=September 29, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010}}</ref> and [[Jed Mercurio]] on ''[[Bodies (2004 TV series)|Bodies]]'',<ref name=Guardian/> ''[[Line of Duty]]'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Curtis|first=Chris|title=Jed Mercurio: taking aim at the target culture|date=20 September 2012|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/in-depth/the-broadcast-interview/jed-mercurio-taking-aim-at-target-culture/5046826.article|publisher=Broadcastnow.co.uk}}</ref> and ''[[Critical (TV Series)|Critical]]''.<ref name=Guardian/>