producer/writer/director brand names
With the upcoming release of Joss Whedon's new film Serenity, based on Firefly, a show cancelled after less than a season's worth of episodes, I've been thinking about the few television writer/director/producers who constitute a brand. I don't think I'll like Serenity/Firefly (the "space western" genre isn't appealing to me--two genres that i don't like put together? not awesome), but I do like Buffy and Angel (not a rabid fan, but I like them), and so I am a little bit curious. The name Joss Whedon signifies certain things to me, as I'm sure it does for many TV fans. But what other auteur has this kind of power?
I would say J.J. Abrams (Felicity, Alias, Lost) fits into this category. For me, Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) definitely will from now on. I bet Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) will as well. Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) is the king of name recognition on the reality side, and I would say Norman Lear (All in the Family, Good Times, One Day at a Time, Sanford and Son, and many others, including a less-mentioned favorite of mine, The Powers That Be) was perhaps one of the first examples of this.
Who am I missing?
I would say J.J. Abrams (Felicity, Alias, Lost) fits into this category. For me, Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) definitely will from now on. I bet Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) will as well. Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) is the king of name recognition on the reality side, and I would say Norman Lear (All in the Family, Good Times, One Day at a Time, Sanford and Son, and many others, including a less-mentioned favorite of mine, The Powers That Be) was perhaps one of the first examples of this.
Who am I missing?
posted by Erica @ 10:26 AM
3 Comments:
At 12:02 PM,
Anonymous said…
Steven Bochco (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Blind Justice, Over There)
David E. Kelley (LA Law, Doogie Howser, Chicago Hope, Picket Fences, The Practice, Boston Public, Boston Legal)
Aaron Spelling (90210, Melrose Place, 7th Heaven, Summerland, Love Boat, Starsky & Hutch, etc etc)
Bunim-Murray (Real World, Road Rules)
David Simon (Homicide: Life in the Street, The Corner, The Wire)
Spielberg is starting to have quite a TV franchise: (Band of Brothers, Taken, Into the West
Dick Wolf kinda counts for the Law & Order franchise, as does Anthony Zuiker for the various CSI's.
Does Matt Groening count? James L. Brooks does (Mary Tyler Moore show, Taxi, The Simpsons)
Peter Engel? (*lol*)
That's all I can think of for now..
At 4:31 PM,
Anonymous said…
Good call on the Dick Wolf and David E. Kelley.
At 6:30 PM,
Anonymous said…
Aaron Sorkin -- Sports Night and [the good seasons of] West Wing, plus The American President and A Few Good Men on the movie side -- and his next project is a movie about the invention of the television. He's right up there with Joss, for me.
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