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.