Showrunning in France, or writing in the age of streaming platforms

ABSTRACT This article historicises and assesses the localisation of the American model of showrunning to French television production in the age of streaming. The successes of showrunning in Éric Rochant’s Le Bureau des légendes/The Bureau (Canal+, 2015-2020) and Fanny Herrero’s Dix pour cent/Call My Agent! (France 2, 2015-2020) have been widely recognised. However, other series in the years since have not uniformly adopted the model of a singular figure or team that blends creative and managerial responsibilities. This article takes a media industry studies approach to showrunning in France. Through analysis of press coverage and interviews, it argues that there are significant cultural and legal barriers to its implementation within French television production. While it might seem that a country whose film industry accords significant emphasis to the director as auteur would make localisation easy, in fact it is the status of the director as auteur that is one of the most significant barriers to the adoption of showrunning. Although creative vision and stylistic coherence are widely accepted as necessary for successful quality series, changing French production cultures and legal frameworks to localise the showrunning model requires a revaluation of the role of writing and writers in the television industry.