Hart Hanson On Showrunning In The Social Media Age

In the first installment of our series "The Changing Face Of TV Fandom," we hear from veteran writer/producer and showrunner Hart Hanson. As the creator of a couple of great, under-appreciated shows (The Finder, Backstrom) and one that has been a huge success (Bones), he's seen all sides of TV fandom. He's very active on Twitter and is a good example of a thoughtful TV veteran who is very accessible to viewers.

But that accessibility can also lead fans to feel that they understand more about the television business and their favorite shows than is actually the case. It's easy to think that what you see on social media is an accurate reflection of what goes on behind-the-scenes. Social media provides a false transparency that can lead to a lot of frustration when fans feel their "voice" isn't being heard.

That pushback can be extremely strong when it comes to fan interactions with showrunners. Their accessibility on social media combined with an increased visibility in the trades ("Showrunner of X Talks About This Week's Big Surprise"), leads many fans to believe that the showrunner is the ultimate arbiter of what they see on-screen. But as Hanson discusses in this wide-ranging piece, TV is a collaborative medium, whether you want it to be or not:

Hart Hanson:
Yes, I think you are entirely correct about the apparent (and very false!) "transparency" that social media seems to provide about the behind the scenes workings of a TV series. It's a conundrum -- that's what social media is for. It's why we are all encouraged to tweet, etc. The audience feels like they are part of it all -- they get a voice! They understand how things work because we keep giving them glimpses.

But we don't, do we?  Not really. We open the veil a certain amount it's true but never into the actual dim, back rooms where decisions are made. Because, as you say, the way decisions are actually made are extremely complex and so, necessarily, murky. The showrunner is in charge until he or she isn't. Showrunners get canned all the time. And I would guess that it's seldom for incompetence -- it's because he or she took a tough stand on something and lost.

That's why when twitics, critics, and fans make guesses as to what is actually happening behind the scenes they are absolutely never right -- because even if the most experienced and savvy critic in the world talks to his or her best friend the veteran showrunner to get the "real story", well, that's not what happens. A TV production is a constantly shifting dance of creativity, sway, power, insanity, passion, exhaustion ... there's seldom a discernible line to cross. It's incredibly complicated.

I'll tell you one thing, being a showrunner has made me much more skeptical of what I read in history books.

As for what happened at "The 100", well, I have a definite opinion. The fans don't get to steer the ship. And ESPECIALLY not social media fans because they do NOT represent the vast majority of the viewing audience. They are, by definition, the most invested. They are the manic-depressive facet of the audience. They love too much and hate too hard!

You give them what they want -- but don't assume that what they are clamoring for is what they really want. What they really want is to be entertained and to feel things and to go through a catharsis or two along the way. They want to be angry and invested and sad and happy and contented and irritated.  They want to invest.

In fact, an audience wants all sorts of things but at the top is resolution and a happy ending. Why do they want that? Because we do everything we can to make it tantalizing. We work very hard to create that feeling in an audience. And when the social media world erupts in fury, or sadness, or happiness, or frustration -- we did that. We made them feel that way. I truly believe that the showrunners job is not to apologize for whipsawing an audience through a range of emotions. The showrunners job is to adjust the show so that the apocalyptic outpouring of emotion is worth it -- as the show progresses.

Noise is good. Clamor is good. You might be surprised by how noisy it is -- and you might get vilified.

I do know that the periods of time when we were getting hollered at by the Bones fans the loudest was also when we had the best ratings. The show was most popular when social media wanted me dead.

If we'd given the audience what they thought they wanted, on Bones, Booth and Brennan would have been a couple by Christmas. And off the air in a single season.

As showrunners we DO have the final say on what happens in the show -- but it's a situation where we are holding a gun to our own head and threatening to shoot the hostage if we don't get our way.

I think it's a good thing that the audience isn't in on every decision. There should be some mystery to the whole process.  Just because you love a hearty stew doesn't mean you want to know everything that goes into it.

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