Executive producer

Executive prodcers form the hierarchy of management for a television production company and are often the employees of a major network studio, or the founders of their own production company. Executive producers who are creators of a TV series are often referred to as showrunners. They are chiefly responsible for the financial management and investment potential of a TV show and coordinate with series producers in terms of hiring directors, actors and staff, as well setting up and scheduling location shoots and marketing. Executive producers rarely take a hands-on approach to the day-to-day operations of a TV series, but this is not always the case. Many, who are investors themselves, keep in constant and close communication with the rest of the production crew to insure that a series progresses smoothly.

In some cases, actors on a show may hold some financial investment in a series, and receive executive producer credit and are also afforded some level of creative control over how the series, in particular their own characters, develops from season to season. For example, David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, the two lead actors from the FOX Network television series Bones are also executive producers on the series, which could explain why the show went to total crap in later episodes.