The shooting script arrives late. The director's hands are creatively tied. Decisions are made without the director's knowledge or input.

It's not a pretty picture, and it impacts everything — and everyone — on the set in question.

But what tends to be discussed less often are the building blocks to a great, effective, positive relationship between the director and the show runner on any given television series. By dint of simple human nature, conflict is a much-discussed phenomenon — while harmony is virtually ignored. And while that tranquillity can be elusive, its building blocks are hardly a secret. At least, they shouldn't be. Because defining what goes right is at least as important as outlining what goes wrong.

What follows are the "10 Essential Ingredients in Good Director/Show Runner Relationships" as gleaned from a score of interviews with both directors and show runners (presented in no particular order).

"I'm fortunate to be working with (executive producer) Bob Young on the new Family Affair," said director Barnett Kellman, "because he has a willingness to trust that our seeing different ways for things to be done helps every element of the show, every department, and ultimately, the elegance of the show's design. Bob or a member of his writing staff is also always available on set, and I take advantage of that. I look at their presence as another collaborative pair of eyes and an opportunity to use their talent."

Young agrees. "It's a complete partnership when you work with a director like Barnett. We have our director in for a full week's worth of pre-production. He or she has an equal voice in all guest casting decisions. They help on the design and the props. So when Barnett finally shows up to start shooting the episode, there are no surprises. He knows the props. He knows the characters. He helped pick everything and has already been involved in every aspect of production. If something doesn't work out, he takes the fall too. And if it does work, he shares in the glory."

If there is a single element that seems to percolate beneath the surface in all effective relationships between director and show runner, it's trust. With it, anything is possible; without it, nothing is.

Mark Piznarski, an episodic TV directing veteran who has also worked this season on ABC's That Was Then, praises the trusting relationship he has with that show's executive producers Jeremy Miller and Dan Cohn.

"I feel their trust and they feel mine," Piznarski says. "With me, they feel they're in good hands, and I feel like I'm in good hands. Everybody does his best work when that's the case."

Joe Stern, a show runner on the CBS drama Judging Amy, agrees. "Our directors get to be wrong, get to fail. We trust each other enough to allow for that."

When a director simply goes through the motions to earn a paycheck, the show runner can sense it. Going the extra mile by putting in the necessary research time to grow accustomed to a show's nuances and rhythms makes for a far happier executive producer.

"I have a great appreciation for directors who come in having done their homework and apply their research to what they do on set," Charmed's Kern stresses. "I have less respect for directors who just show up, walk in, do the basic one-two-three kick and move on to the next gig."

Adds Judging Amy's Stern: "In casting sessions, we get into extensive dialogues with our directors about scenes and objections. It becomes our own version of the writers' tone meeting. A guy like Jim Frawley comes in prepared and knows a lot of what to expect in advance."

Adds David Hollander, show runner for the CBS drama The Guardian: "I expect our directors to understand the show and do their homework. If a director watches every episode, gets to know the actors and their style and understands the script he or she is assigned to go and make, we never have a problem. The director gets to make something unique to his or her vision. And I get another layer of creative input."

Every experienced episodic TV director can tell you horror stories about being hired for a show that simply wants the director to fill in the blanks and doesn't allow for any variance from a pre-set vision for that show. That doesn't do much to fuel an effective director/show runner collaboration. The opposite, however, does.

"I'm fortunate to be on a show where great flexibility exists," Kellman says of his association with Family Affair. "If writers hold stubbornly to something that isn't working, it's going to cost everybody — the production financially as well as all of the people in terms of time and effort and exhaustion. Being open to new ideas tends to serve everybody."

Adds That Was Then's Shaw: "Sometimes you arrive and, quite frankly, there is already a super-structured thing in place. And they are very sure of where they are going, and would like you to hone very close to what they've established as their thing. Sometimes, there's no way around that. But I'm lucky in my current situation to be on a new series where my input is valued. Creativity flourishes out of that."

Stern certainly tries to run Judging Amy as an open hierarchy. "Producers will scream at directors: 'We don't do that here.' That makes no sense to me. You have to do whatever is right for the text. The whole idea is to make sure you honor the material and don't get between the film and the audience. We have no rules here. If a director wants to do something cinematically that enhances or in some way tells the story better, we do it."

But in order for the director to have that creative openness he or she needs to have adequate time with the script. The same holds true for the show runner as well. "When you get the scripts on time, you can be prepping that episode and hiring the cast and putting together the props while you're shooting your present episode," Family Affair's Young says. "It keeps the machine running smoothly. Having the script on time makes all the difference in the world."

"I've known many directors who have had to wait two and three days for a script to arrive on their set to be filmed," says director Rod Holcomb. "That bottleneck at the show runner level leaves everyone antsy and gums up the process. And the accumulation of that effect is ten-fold. When the script is late, everything's late. But when the script arrives on time, you wind up with a relaxed set, every time."

Says Kellman: "Bob (Young) is very open to my suggestions as they regard the script and how to make things more production-friendly. If I see we're running long, I'm allowed to suggest cuts and ways in which we can tell the story more efficiently. If I see something that I believe we'll wind up having to compromise for in the editing process, he's eager to address that during production."

Things tend to proceed with far greater unanimity and cooperation when both director and show runner are able to remove themselves from the equation and peer solely at what serves the good of a given show.

Notes The Guardian's Hollander: "I make sure that our directors know it's not my set. It's their set. Things have to be discussed with the understanding that we are equals. I won't undermine their authority or tell them how to shoot my show. I expect them to understand how to do it going in or they wouldn't be here."

Pam Fryman, director on numerous episodes of the long-running NBC comedy Just Shoot Me, marvels about the fact that there is such an absence of ego — not only amongst the trio of first-year show runners on the series (Judd Pillot, John Peaslee and Jon Pollack) but with the cast as well.

Chemel, of Bernie Mac, adds, "Larry (Wilmore) is so focused away from his own ego and toward his own joy in the work that it allows the material to soar — and our relationship to thrive."

When the director's vision isn't strangled and he/she is granted room to roam, magical things can happen on a TV series.

Admits Charmed executive producer Kern: "I understand why the director's opinion isn't valued. It's like working with freelance writers. It can be easier to just say, 'Do it my way.' But that seems to be against the spirit of the whole collaborative process. There's more risk when you grant latitude to a director. But you're dealing with an artist who has unique skills and a perspective you want to bring to your party. To not allow that would be to miss out on what they may be bringing.

"I mean, I don't work well with someone who is trying to suppress my talent. I don't want to do the same thing to my directors. Sometimes, you give too much latitude, and you get back something you don't want your show to be. But that's usually my fault; I didn't properly prep the director. It's the stamp that an individual director puts on Charmed that keeps the show fresh."

Mel Damski, who has directed episodes of both The Guardian (for Hollander) and Charmed (for Kern), says, "Both David and Brad have very strong visions for their shows, and their goal is to have me as the director come in and expand on that vision. There's a real freedom there. They want me to help take their shows to the next level, which I find energizing."

As much as smart show runners generally don't try to shackle their directors, so too the savvy episodic directors know better than to insist that their style and attitude predominate, no matter the series.

Shaw, of That Was Then, believes, "Working with a show runner is the same as getting married. That's particularly true of episodic hours. As a husband, you want to serve the needs of your wife. As a director, your main thing is to listen carefully to what the show runner needs. You're only doing one segment in an ongoing tableau of a show's arcs and episodes that reflect all sorts of problems that need to be worked out in terms of story, character and tone — as well as the network's and studio's needs.

Jim Conway, a director and co-executive producer on Charmed, stresses that a TV series director "has to be a chameleon. You know when you get there what's expected of you, and you shouldn't go in with any preconceived ideas. Part of the job is to supply the executive producer with his vision. With the director, it's only a question of how much of your vision he will allow in. We tend to view directors as valued associates here. Other shows view them more as obstacles."

Without respect between director and show runner, there often is nothing. But with it, anything seems to be possible.

Michael Switzer recalls how he recently directed episodes of NYPD Blue and (last season) the ABC drama Philly after having had a long hiatus from doing episodic — and was "a little apprehensive" about the whole thing.

"But I repected my show runners and they respected me," Switzer says. "It certainly wasn't at all a case of a director's rights being trampled on. Or even stepped on. Or even lightly brushed. I never felt pressure to do anything anybody else's way. That's when you know you've stumbled into a great situation."

Damski makes the point that both Hollander (The Guardian) and Kern (Charmed) directed the final episodes of their shows last year to help give them a more hands-on understanding of what the helmer goes through. "I think it helped elevate the level of respect they have for their own directors," Damski said. "It's great, because I find that I'm gravitating to the shows where there's an inherent respect for directors and they don't look in any way to forge an adversarial relationship. On both shows, you get the scripts on time — and they really want your feedback."

The respect is mutual. "We trust and respect Pam so much, and we get the clear sense that she trusts us," Pollack says. "She creates an atmosphere where it's very easy to talk and have dialogue and get notes both ways. It's a huge asset to have someone you respect that much directing every episode. We're lucky that it's her eyes and ears down there for us every week."

Just Shoot Me line producer Kevin Slattery agrees. "Pam just gets it," he says.

It sounds like such a simple thing, but even in the cases where both parties are attentive and cooperative, communication can prove elusive. It's an intangible that directors and show runners should never take for granted.

"Communication means making sure our directors understand our show's particular quirks in advance," says That Was Then show runner Jeff Kline. "The more heads up about the potholes they get in advance, the better prepared our directors will be. For instance, we have a stage floor where you can't roll a dolly because it isn't flat. So it might be good to warn the director in advance that he or she may not want to think about dollying down our hallways."

Adds Charmed line producer/ director Jon Paré: "I find Brad (Kern) to have an exceptional ability to communicate with us. That's an amazing strength to have. He has a lot of faith in us to deliver what he wants. But even more important, he lets us know very clearly what it is he wants. He describes it in a way that makes it easy to identify. And besides that, we get the scripts on time — every time. That's extremely rare."

"It really helps to have a regular director like we do with Pam (Fryman)," Slattery believes. "Having that week-to-week stability is a godsend in terms of communication and understanding one another's styles. When you add respect to the mix, that combination makes it pretty hard to go wrong. You still can. But it makes it harder."

Related Items:

• The problems of Late Script Delivery - July 2002
• The Best of Both Worlds: Directors as Television Showrunners - May 2001

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