What Is a Producer Session? (Plus Test Deals)

A producer session is a callback where the producers, and usually the director, watch you read after you have passed the casting director's pre-read. On TV it is the step before the studio and network tests for big roles, and for those roles your deal is negotiated before you test. Casting directors told us what to keep, what you can change and what to bring.

What is a producer session?

It's the first time the people paying for the project see you, either live or on video. Up to this point you've usually only been seen by casting. Casting director Deborah Barylski explained that you get a callback from the pre-read to a producer session because she liked what you did. In other words, the casting director is now putting you forward and their taste is on the line too.

On film, the same step may be called a director's session or director's callback. The name changes; the idea doesn't.

How is a producer session different from a pre-read, callback or test?

Here is the usual order on a TV series, as our casting directors described it:

1. Pre-read. Casting only, now usually a self tape.
2. Callback. Sometimes casting again, with adjustments.
3. Producer session. The producers and often the director watch.
4. Studio test, then network test. For series regulars and big roles, the top few are shown to studio executives and then the network.

Smaller roles usually stop at the producer session; the producers choose and that's the booking. Commercials run their own version, where the director, the ad agency and sometimes the client sit in on the callback. See acting callbacks for more on callback etiquette.

Who will be at a producer session?

Expect the producer, the director, the casting director and the casting associate, according to casting director Carmen Aiello. On a TV series that can also include the showrunner and other writer-producers.

Don't read too much into their behaviour. Kym says that if a producer is on their phone as you start, don't wait: start when they say you can. Some producers listen rather than watch, and someone checking an email is not a verdict on you.

Should you change your audition for the producers?

Not the big choices. Deborah Barylski was emphatic: from pre-read to producers, studio and network, keep the audition the same unless she, the director or a producer asks for something different. If you change it unprompted, she worries you can't repeat your work. You can shift a beat or two, she said, but not the arc. Casting director Ricki Maslar agreed that changing it without direction may cost you the role.

John Frank Levey made a point that sounds opposite but isn't. In a members' Q&A he said to reproduce your work, not your result: do the same preparation and make the same choices, then let the moment be alive. Trying to copy exactly how it came out last time, he said, will only spoil it.

So keep your choices, not a frozen recording of them.

How do you handle an adjustment in a producer session?

Take it fully, and fast. A producer session is partly a test of whether you can be directed. Casting executive Matt Skrobalak said what he misses most about in-person casting is the director pulling an actor aside, giving a note in the corner, and the actor turning straight around and delivering it. He called an audition a job interview, where they want to know you are agreeable and directable.

Casting director David Guglielmo said the advantage of a live session is that he can give a note in real time, instead of waiting for a new self tape to come back through your agent. So if you get a note, say thanks, ask one clarifying question if you need to, and show them the change.

Are producer sessions still done in person?

Less than they used to be. Many sessions now happen over video, and some offices skip them. Casting director Michael Testa said he very rarely does callbacks; he sends tapes to the producers and director and encourages them to go with their gut. He also reminds them that actors on tape haven't had the benefit of their direction.

What should you bring to a producer session?

Casting director Seth Yanklewitz said the one time he still asks for a hard copy headshot and resume is for producer sessions and studio or network tests, so bring a couple. Wear what you wore to the audition that got you here unless you're told otherwise.

Producer Shaked Berenson's advice is to remember that producers are people too. Be on time and friendly, because the actors he hires again, sometimes without an audition, are the ones he enjoyed working with. If you want to mention their past work, he said, make it real appreciation of something you actually know, not the first thing you found online.

What is a test deal?

A test deal is the contract an actor agrees to before testing for a series regular or other major TV role. Casting director Alexa Pereira told us that before actors test, their contracts are already filled out, including what they'll be paid and how many episodes they're guaranteed, because the final choice then goes to the studio and network for approval. If the network says yes, the deal is already done.

Your agent, and often an entertainment lawyer, negotiates it before the test. That's why you should know what you're agreeing to before you walk in: once you test, you have accepted those terms if you're chosen. Terms vary a lot from project to project, so we won't quote figures.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check any contract with your agent, an entertainment lawyer or SAG-AFTRA for your own situation.

What happens after a producer session?

You may hear within days, or not at all. Actor Kevin E. West told us about a second callback for a series regular role where he waited four or five business days before learning it had gone another way. Alexa Pereira said nothing in casting is perfectly linear: her team once offered an actor one of the leads without a test because they already knew they wanted him.

For connected roles, the next step may be a chemistry read. For the rest, it's an offer, a hold, or silence. Then the best thing you can do is go and audition for something else.

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