A producer is the person who gets a film or show made: developing it, raising or managing the money, hiring the director and casting director, and delivering it. Executive producers usually bring the money on films and lead the creative team on TV, the showrunner runs a series, and the line producer runs the budget day to day. Here's what each one does and what producers and casting directors told us.
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A producer gets a film or show made and delivered: developing it, raising or managing the money, hiring the key people and steering it through production to release. The Producers Guild of America's code of credits for feature films describes the main "Produced by" credit as the person responsible for originating and managing the production, including selecting the key creative and physical production team.
In practice, producer Shaked Berenson told us there's no fixed definition. Some are "packaging" producers who mostly work from the office; others are on set and involved in every budget line. That's why one film can have one producer and another twenty, depending on its financing and complexity. Kym's angle: producers are the business people who hire the director and casting director, so they're powerful contacts.
On a film, usually the money. Shaked Berenson told us an executive producer has financial accountability for the project, or helped make it happen financially: writing the cheques, bringing in the person who did, or arranging finance through pre-sales, banking or crowdfunding. That's why, he said, EPs rarely come to set.
The PGA's feature guidelines set a higher bar for the credit: an essential contribution such as securing at least 25% of the financing or significantly developing the source material. In TV the title means something else. The PGA's TV code of credits describes executive producers as the series' primary creative contributors, reporting only to the studio or companies financing and distributing it.
The showrunner runs a TV series. In the PGA's code it isn't a separate credit but one kind of executive producer. The PGA describes the showrunner as the executive producer with "overall creative authority and management responsibility" for the entire scripted series.
For actors, that means the showrunner is one of the strongest voices in TV casting. Casting director Risa Bramon Garcia listed who weighs in on a pilot: studio executives, network executives, executive producers, producers, the writer, the showrunner (sometimes the same person) and sometimes the star.
The line producer runs the budget and logistics, line by line. The PGA's feature and TV codes both give the line producer "primary responsibility for the budget and logistics" from pre-production to delivery, with every below-the-line department head reporting to them. Shaked Berenson's candid view is that the job is often the production manager's, upgraded to a producer credit. Our film crew roles page explains how it fits with the rest of the set.
A unit production manager handles day-to-day production decisions, staffing and hiring crew, according to the PGA. The PGA's feature guidelines say that where a separate UPM is employed, the co-producer credit may go to them. UPMs are represented by the Directors Guild of America, whose guild pages list assistant directors and unit production managers as one of its member categories.
In TV, the PGA sets out a ladder: executive producer, co-executive producer, supervising producer, producer, then co-producer, each reporting to the level above.
In film, the lines are looser. Shaked Berenson told us there's no legal definition or industry standard for a co-producer: it's usually someone who helped produce, sometimes as much as anyone. An associate producer usually works for the producer, carrying out their decisions without decision-making power of their own. The PGA says the associate producer credit should be granted sparingly.
It's the Producers Mark. The Producers Guild of America's Producers Mark page describes it as a no-cost certification mark that identifies which producers performed a major portion of the producing functions on a specific film, in a decision-making capacity. PGA membership isn't required, and the guild asks producers to allow eight to ten weeks for certification. It can appear on films, animated and documentary films, and televised or streamed films.
More people than actors expect, and the producer can overrule the director. Kym explains that the director and casting director usually make the call, but the producers hire both of them, and if a producer really wants you in a film, they can usually make it happen. Our final casting decision article covers independent film in detail.
The casting directors we asked described it as a collaboration with layers. Lisa Beach said there are more people at higher levels now, including marketing, and sometimes a message comes down that a producer won't work with an actor. When she and the director agree, the director pleads the case upstairs. Meg Morman said most of her projects have been a real conversation with the director and producer.
Do your job, and don't pitch. Darren Darnborough and Ajarae Coleman both told us not to pitch ideas or yourself to producers on a set you're acting on; get their details and follow up later. If a producer's note contradicts the director's, Shaked Berenson suggests saying so on the spot, without taking sides: you're getting conflicting direction, which do they want?
What gets you hired again? Shaked said it's actors who feel like part of the crew: they learn names and help out.
To create the roles nobody is offering them. Shaked Berenson recommends it, with a warning: don't overspend, and remember the goal may be clips for your reel rather than a release. Melissa Center said equipment is cheap now and producing helps you find your own voice as an artist. If an acting job turns into producing work, Pete Malicki's advice is to ask about a producer credit up front, before you sign. Our short film guide is a good place to start.
Look them up. Kym's rule is to check the credits of anyone who says they're a producer, because plenty of people claim projects that aren't on their IMDb page. She's also clear that no single producer can blacklist you, whatever they threaten. Pete Malicki's red flags: a bad reputation online, or a producer who won't answer basic questions about the job and the fee.
A producer develops, finances and manages a film or TV project from idea to delivery, including hiring the key creative team such as the director and casting director.
On a film, an executive producer usually provides or arranges financing. On a TV series, executive producers are the senior creative team, reporting to the studio or network.
A showrunner is the executive producer with overall creative authority and management responsibility for a TV series. It is a job description rather than an on-screen credit.
A line producer has primary responsibility for a production's budget and logistics, and the below-the-line department heads report to them.
It is the Producers Guild of America's Producers Mark, certifying that the producer performed a major portion of the producing functions in a decision-making capacity.
Yes. Producers hire the director and casting director and can overrule casting choices, though casting is usually a collaboration between the director, casting director and producers.
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