Writers' room

The showrunner runs the entire writers' room. They have overall responsibility for the entire series; they are in charge of the budget, scripts, crew, keeping actors happy and interacting with the studio or network. They are usually writers themselves and are generally listed as executive producers.[7]

Executive producer is a writer and second in charge and may act on behalf of the showrunner.[8]

Producers are writers who have moved up the room hierarchy. This group includes co-executive producers,[9] supervisory producers,[10] co-producers and line producer.[11] They are involved in script approvals, casting, production and creative direction.[12][13] A line producer is a managerial position, and often not a writer.[11][14]

Executive story editor is a mid-level tv writer running groups of staff writers.[8] Staff writer is an entry level writing position, reserved for someone working on their first or second scripts.[13]

A writers' assistant is one of the most coveted jobs in the industry.[15] The assistant takes notes in the room and interacts with the writers and creators. They learn the business from the inside and make contacts, hoping to be able to later move up the hierarchy. It is their job to make sure that no good ideas are lost, do research, produce web material and occasionally make creative pitches.[13]

Production assistant is an entry level job, also hard to get. They run errands, make copies, get coffee and are described as the "legs" of the industry.[16]

The room does more than write; they cast, hire key crew, work on set design, and anything else a producer would do. A main writer of an episode will get credit as the writer. A producer credit for a series will generally be given to each member of the writing staff who made a demonstrable contribution to the final script. The pecking order determines the level of the credit.[17] The actual producer of the show (in the traditional sense) is listed under the credit "produced by". Bill Lawrence, a television screenwriter, stated that:

... the end credits of a TV show, it will say staff writer, story editor, executive story Editor, co-producer, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, executive producer. (While) (s)omeone else will (also) be executive producer because they help to run the room, every other title is just ... writer who's been here one year, writer who's been here two years, writer who's been here three years, ... and it's just a pay scale.[18]

• I Love Lucy with Madelyn Pugh Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf[19]
• Your Show of Shows with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Woody Allen, Tony Webster, Lucille Kallen, Selma Diamond, Danny Simon, Mel Tolkin, Max Liebman, Sid Caeser and Neil Simon.[20] Five years after the Holocaust and in the midst of the Blacklist (which frequently targeted Jewish writers)[21] it has been noted that they were all were Jewish except for Webster.[22]
• The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with Steve Martin, Rob Reiner, Pat Paulsen,[23] Tony Webster[24] and Bob Einstein[25]
• The Dana Carvey Show with Steve Carell, Louis C.K., Stephen Colbert, Robert Smigel, Robert Carlock, Jon Glaser, Dino Stamatopoulos and Dana Carvey[26]