In the Playback article ‘Who’s Minding the Store?’ (June 22) – after noting that The Listener’s initial ratings were a little soft – Christina Jennings is cited lamenting that Canada has ‘too few showrunners to fuel its drama-making machine.’ So if the ‘winning streak’ of Canadian shows airing in U.S. primetime stalls with The Listener, it seems we’re to understand that a lack of Canadian showrunning talent is to blame. I completely disagree with this conclusion – so let’s talk facts before pointing fingers.

Ms. Jennings is right about one thing – after the disastrous 1999 CRTC Television Policy decimated drama production in Canada, some skilled Canadian writers and a few showrunners went south. However, despite this, we have retained and developed many exceptionally gifted and experienced showrunners. And with only seven one-hour dramas in production, and just six more in development, there’s demand for only 13 showrunners in Canada right now.

A recent Writers Guild of Canada showrunner roundtable drew 30 of Canada’s most experienced showrunners – so shortage of Canadian showrunners is not the issue. The fact is there are more seasoned and talented showrunners in Canada than there are shows to run. And on top of that, we also have an outstanding crop of potential showrunners readying in the nation’s story departments.

But Canadian showrunners must have the professional respect that allows them to do their job. They must be given the creative control necessary to realize the original vision of the show – the vision that was the very reason the networks picked up the show in the first place.

Maureen Parker
Executive director,
Writers Guild of Canada