Television producers in the United States have historically oscillated between the position of capital—entrepreneurs owning the means of production and intellectual property rights —and labor—employees serving as writer-producers who do not own the underlying rights to what they create. Throughout network-era television (1950s–2000s), producers’ roles shifted at different historical moments, whether the entrance of the major studios into television in the mid-1950s or ownership regulation in the early 1970s. Typically, these oscillations followed a discernable pattern: producers launched their own independent shingles after a technological or regulatory catalyst; only a few sustained over the medium term; and those that did sustain and find success were eventually integrated into the Hollywood studios. This cycle occurred for several reasons idiosyncratic to television, including the non-rivalrous public good nature of the medium, scarce buyers, and the economies of scale and vertical integration required to mitigate the high failure rate. Additionally, since the 1980s, the major television studios have used various strategies, such as “first-look” and “overall” deals, to ensure top producers remain in the position of labor.
The economics of streaming television resulted in some television producers once again operating independently of studios starting in the 2010s. However, this political economy has presented new challenges: the distinctive financial model of platforms like Netflix has required upfront “buyouts” for producers, regardless of the success of their programs, in exchange for long-term rights. This, ultimately, inhibits independents from profiting from big hits and accessing investment capital. Amid broader industrial contraction, the recent movement for a producer’s “union” demonstrates how this landscape is ever-evolving. How can contextualizing the long historical arc of television history inform contemporary tensions? Given the historical specificity of this stakeholder and medium specificity of television, is there value in trying to place producers into the category of capitalist, manager, or laborer?