Interview with Lee Goldberg and Matt Witten, part I

Lee Goldberg and Matt Witten 2003 at the Edgar Awards
(c) leegoldberg.typepad.com

They come in, shoot their episodes, they deliver their director's cut three days later, and they're gone! The problem as I see it here from talking to many network executives and writer-producers is that the directors are given outrageous amounts of control. And they come on the show and do whatever they damn please, so from week to week the show has no stylistic or narrative consistency. The key to American television is sure like the key to American hamburger restaurants: I know that if I go to this McDonald's right here in Lohr, it's gonna taste just like this McDonald's next to my house in California. Consistency! I know what I will get from McDonald's. „House, MD“ is „House, MD“ every week. You watch some of these German shows and you don't know what the hell you gonna get. Plus, [the US shows] have a strong voice, a strong point of view, and a distinct look.

There are so many cop shows on American TV with teams of young operatives, that I can't recognize. But after watching just a few minutes, I can tell from the way it looks, it's „CSI: Miami“. I can tell in an instant if I am watching an „Law & Order“ show. „Monk“ has a unique look. There is not enough distinctiveness [on German TV]. And a showrunner helps create that sense of distinction. So, a long answer to your question: Yes, the showrunner system is key to the success of American television shows.

Matt Witten (laughing)

The short answer...

Lee Goldberg

Yes, that's the short answer.

Serienjunkies

Indeed, there is this uniqueness about shows created by writer-producers like David Kelley, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon...

Lee Goldberg

And you know what? There is the same distinction from shows created by people you can't name. Every show has a showrunner, they may not be as popular or well-known as David E. Kelley or Aaron Sorkin, but there are showrunners that Matt and I know, you never heard of, I see their name on a show, and I know what I am gonna get. Every showrunner has a distinct voice.

Serienjunkies

Did you see some of this unique vision in the German writers you have worked with the last week?

Lee Goldberg

Every writer has a unique voice and a unique point of view. So I have to say, yes, they have distinct voices, distinct point of views, distinct ways of telling stories. There is one person on my group, he can not handle ambiguity, always trying to make it more clear, always trying to resolve every mystery. I have another member of my group who prefers more ambiguity. So if they are running shows, they should be very different.

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