Authorship and Creative Management in Established British TV

Abstract

Authorship in television has been a blind spot in television studies, as the concept of the author does not go hand in hand with the collective nature of the production process. Redefining authorship in a collective context, this paper investigates the division of labour in the writing process of the British science fiction series Doctor Who, as well as the power dynamics resulting from symbolic attributions of authorship to specific players, and in particular the showrunner, depending on their reputation. This study shows how production constraints are integrated into the writing process, blurring the lines between writing, which is constructed as authored in British television, and the production process in itself, deemed more technical. Finally, the consequences of perceiving workers as authors, more broadly talents, are explored. It indeed leads to management methods specific to creative workers and to disruptions in the production process, to adapt to “talented” workers’ needs.