# Executive producer > A senior producer credit. In film it usually rewards money, rights or a key relationship rather than day-to-day producing; in television it is the top producing title, held by the showrunner and the other people who run the series. Also known as EP, exec producer ## In practice An executive producer is a senior producer credit whose meaning depends on the medium. In film it usually goes to someone who made the project possible without running it day to day: a financier, the person who brought the rights or the star, a company that put the deal together. In television it is the top producing title, and the showrunner who runs the series is almost always one of its executive producers. That difference matters to a writer because the same two words describe very different jobs. A film executive producer may never read a draft. A television executive producer may have written the pilot, run the writers' room, rewritten every episode and cast the lead. When someone tells you an executive producer is interested in your script, the first question is which kind. In television, producer titles also mark a writer's seniority. Writers on staff move up a ladder that runs from staff writer through story editor and the producer titles to co-executive producer and executive producer, and the title on the contract tracks experience, responsibility and pay. A writer can hold a producer title without producing anything in the film sense, because in a writers' room it describes rank. ## Executive producers in a writers' room **Two kinds of executive producer, one table** ``` INT. WRITERS' ROOM - DAY Index cards cover a corkboard: episodes one to eight, a gap at six. MARISOL (40s), the showrunner, stands at the board. At the end of the table, GRANT (60s), whose company owns the book rights, scrolls through his phone. MARISOL Episode six is where she finds out. If it lands in the cold open, we have nothing left for the act break. GRANT The network called. They love the show. They want to know if the brother can live. Silence. Every writer looks at Marisol. MARISOL Tell them the brother lives in episode five. Then we break six. ``` Both people at the table are executive producers. Marisol is the writing executive producer who runs the series and makes the story decisions. Grant is the non-writing executive producer who controls the rights and relays the network's notes. A writer on that show answers to Marisol, and how she handles Grant's note is part of the job the title describes. ## Executive producer in film In film, the executive producer credit usually recognizes a contribution rather than day-to-day producing. Financiers often receive it in exchange for money. So do the producers or managers who brought the rights, the company of a star who attached early, or the producer of a previous film in a franchise. Several executive producers on one film is common, and some of them may have had very little to do with the production itself. This is why the Producers Guild treats the "Produced by" credit, not the executive producer credit, as the one that names the people who made the film. For a screenwriter, a film executive producer can still be useful: they may be the person who opens the door to the money or the actor. But the person who options your script and gives your notes is usually the producer, not the executive producer. ## Executive producer in television In television, the executive producer is the top producing title, and it is shared by the people who run the show. The showrunner is the head writer and chief executive producer: they run the writers' room, approve every script, guide casting and the edit, and answer to the studio and network. Other writing executive producers are senior writers who may run the room when the showrunner is on set or in post. Non-writing executive producers sit alongside them: the production company that sold the series, the director of the pilot, the author of the book, sometimes a star. A new writer who sells a pilot is often paired with an experienced showrunner as executive producer, because a studio wants someone who has run a show before. The creator keeps a created-by credit and is usually an executive producer too, even if someone else runs the room. ## The television writer's title ladder Writers on a U.S. television staff typically hold one of these titles, from junior to senior: staff writer, story editor, executive story editor, co-producer, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer and executive producer. Exact steps vary, and writers can skip a rung, but each title roughly matches a level of experience and a range of pay and responsibility. Moving up the ladder usually means taking on more of the producing work: breaking stories and running a room, rewriting other writers' drafts, being on set for your episode, working in the edit. By co-executive producer, a writer is usually one of the people the showrunner trusts to run the show in their absence. That is the experience studios look for when they choose who can be the next showrunner. ## Common questions ### What is an executive producer? A senior producer credit. In film it usually goes to someone who financed or enabled the project; in television it is the top producing title, held by the showrunner and other senior writers and producers. ### What does an executive producer do in film? Usually they bring something essential without producing day to day: money, rights, a star or a deal. Some executive producers are closely involved; others mainly helped set the project up. ### What does an executive producer do in TV? They run the series. Writing executive producers lead the writers' room, approve scripts and supervise production and post; non-writing executive producers include the production company, the pilot's director or the rights holder. ### Is a showrunner an executive producer? Yes. Showrunner is not an on-screen credit; the showrunner is credited as an executive producer, and is the one among the executive producers who has final say over the show day to day. ### What is the difference between an executive producer and a producer? In film, the producer usually does the hands-on producing and the executive producer contributes money, rights or a key relationship. In television, executive producer is the more senior title, above producer on the writers' title ladder. ### Why do actors get executive producer credits? Because their attachment can be what gets a project financed, or their company developed it. The credit recognizes that contribution and sometimes comes with real creative input, but it depends on the deal. ### What is a co-executive producer? In television, the title one step below executive producer on the writers' ladder. A co-executive producer is usually a senior writer who helps run the room and can stand in for the showrunner. ### How does a writer become an executive producer? In television, by moving up the staff ladder over several seasons, or by creating and selling a series, which usually comes with an executive producer credit. In film, by producing their own projects or by negotiating the credit into a deal. ## Related terms - [Producer](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/producer): The person responsible for getting a film or series made: they find or option the material, develop the script with the writer, attach a director and cast, secure the money, and oversee production through delivery. For a screenwriter, usually the first buyer. - [Showrunner](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/showrunner): The writer-producer who runs a series creatively and operationally — final say on story, scripts, and often tone across the writers' room, production, and post. - [Writers' room](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/writers-room): The team that breaks story, drafts episodes, and revises together. Rooms need shared drafts, clear history, and a way to try parallel takes without losing accountability. - [Development](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/development): The phase between a promising idea or draft and a production-ready script — notes, rewrites, attachments, and packaging. Being "in development" is not the same as being made. --- Canonical page: