Who Are the Top 50 Showrunners?
Shonda Rhimes
Who are the people behind television's most successful or critically acclaimed shows?
The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of the top 50 showrunners including the no-brainer choices, such as Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and Mad Men's Matthew Weiner. Then there's the somewhat less obvious, such as The Vampire Diaries team of Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec.
Overall, CBS had the highest number of people who made the list including Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory) — who probably had more written about him in the past year than any other showrunner just because of the Charlie Sheen hullabaloo— and husband-and-wife team Michelle and Robert King (The Good Wife).
Among the criteria for how they were chosen: direct responsibility for the day-to-day creative output of a scripted TV show; Nielsen ratings; Emmy attention and critical praise; and professionalism and reputation among studio and network executives.
See the full list here.
Who do you think deserved the honor and who was left off the list?