Not long ago, a “seasoned television director” was a euphemism for a hack. Over the past decade, however, with new economic models and digital advances, television has started to change. First, HBO enticed high profile feature directors to improve the image of television, and recently, Netflix has begun redefining the broadcast medium by creating a new financial strategy that has resulted in them becoming leaders in this fast-changing digital economy. The Wrap recently posed the question “Emmy vs. Oscar: Which Honors the More Substantial Work?” (June 27, 2012). In true Hollywood headline hype, television pitches itself as the transformational medium to save the entertainment world. But is it? It is widely accepted that feature films are a director’s medium while TV belongs to the writers and producers.
On feature films, the director is the key creative lynchpin of the product whereas in television, the director is generally a part-time hire whose creative input is limited. With this new model, in which high profile Hollywood directors work in television, the uneasy relationship between television producers and directors is testing the old adages. The hope would be that these changes could improve the situation for directors in the television medium. As an experienced television director, I see a variety of pitfalls arising from the glorification of the television medium that might result in the demise of the director as auteur.