What Does a Showrunner Look For When Hiring TV Writers?

Ah, to be an aspiring writer in the Golden Age of Television.

Writing for television is a dream that many readers across our platform share. Every time I've worked in a room, it's been a lot of hard work, and incredibly satisfying to see my work come alive.

But writing for TV is a constant slog of writing TV pilots to try to sell them and taking general meetings in order to try to get staffed on other TV shows.

Since I can only control my own writing, I am always looking for something that can give me a leg up when it comes to meeting with execs and showrunners who can hire me to staff.

One of the resources I've been reading is from Netflix's western Damnation showrunner, writer, and director Tony Tost. He has a Medium newsletter called 'Practical Screenwriting' where he doles out advice and information that is incredibly helpful for people trying to break into Hollywood.

This week, Tost wrote about what he looks for when it comes to hiring writers for his rooms.

Tost elaborated, writing, "Whenever I’m talking to a potential candidate for any of the above positions, the question I’m silently always asking myself is this: Will this person make my job easier?"

That's a frank and direct question a showrunner can pose. It gets right to the heart of what the staff's ultimate goal should be: servicing the showrunner's vision.

Tost explained why it comes down to this, writing: "That’s just about always the deciding factor for me when it comes to hiring decisions. Because inevitably, I end up meeting with more qualified and appealing candidates than I can hire. I also tend to personally like most of the people I meet. So, I have to come up with some kind of rubric."

If that's the rubric; what is the thought process behind it?

Basically, Tost explained that it comes down to how time-consuming television is and how the hours can be long and grueling. You have to be choosy with who's coming along for the ride because when the going gets tough, you need good people surrounding you... who are tough... and care about the project.

In Tost's words, "...because showrunning is such a demanding, challenging, time-consuming job, I have to be super selfish and pretty picky in deciding on who I’m taking on that journey with me. So the deciding factor is always the same thing."

So, how does this help writers who read this?

Well, I plan on incorporating that into my self-pitch. I'm going to be upfront that it's my goal to make the showrunner's life easier. I plan on talking to the showrunners I've worked with in the past to get some honest critiques on what I did well to accomplish this goal and what I can do better in the future.

Being a team player and working to support your showrunner seems obvious on paper, but goes a long way to communicate and standby when pitching to land in a writer's room.

Think this is a good idea? Any other advice or experience landing a job in a writer's room? Let us know below!