Listened to that great WGA event earlier and saw there were a few questions about less experienced creators being partnered with experienced showrunners.

I've been through this three times now (2x on EXTANT, 1x on REVERIE) and thought I'd share some of what I learned.

This is one person's experience. If something in this thread resonates with you or you find it helpful, great. There are as many different experiences as there are writers who have gone through this process. YMMV.

I went to school for Musical Theater, worked as an actor, wrote/produced/directed ultra low budget films, same for musicals and plays. So, while I was new to tv, I'd spent 20 years articulating my vision to casts and crews, and putting on shows. I had some applicable skills.

I had not, to that point, been entrusted with tens of millions of dollars and a staff of hundreds. I knew showrunning wasn't an entry level job and that I'd be paired with an experienced person. I didn't fear it, I WANTED it, because I knew this would be a learning experience.

One of the things Jeff pointed out was that your first task as a new creator will likely be hiring a showrunner. The way it worked for me - WME and Amblin (my producers) set a meetings with a number of people they thought would be a good fit creatively, but also good mentors.

My reps/producers were looking out for me that way. In case yours aren't, you may want to articulate this desire early. Yes, you want someone who is going to be a great leader, but you also want someone willing to keep you at their right hand and (patiently) teach you the job.

For those handful of meetings (with producing partners present), I did research beforehand, watched episodes they'd written, looked up bios, interviews on YouTube, read scripts. What did we have in common? Do we have similar tastes? Style?

The good meetings were ones where I felt there was genuine interest in the material. They had personal insight or connection, thoughtful questions, things they loved, theories as to where I saw it going, and gentle constructive feedback.

There will definitely be meetings where you may love the person's resume but you'll get that "pea under the mattress" feeling and know it's not right. Don't be thrown off by seeing a favorite show on their imdb. Like Jeff said, ultimately you have to trust your gut.

The best meeting was with Greg Walker, our showrunner. In minutes we were having a conversation about parents and children, religion, the big themes, genre touchstones we loved, etc. By the end of the meeting, I felt like I'd known him for years. It was clear he was the one.

Once we were working together, I felt that for the show to have its best chance at success, he had to be as invested as I was. I tried to be as collaborative as possible and to make his job easier whenever possible. I took notes, asked questions, and often just listened.

When it came to collaborating, I learned to ask myself, "Is this better? Worse? Or just different?" and adopted the "best idea wins" mindset. Your show will inevitably be a melding of voices, so you have to learn to manage your ego and make space for everyone.

Recently, I heard Jason Isbell say it's about "rooting for the message and not yourself as the messenger." That is my MO every time out but especially in partnerships with the showrunners.

One of the things I WISH I'd done was write down all the questions he asked in hiring meetings with line producers and department heads. If you get to do this, learn from my mistake. You'll wish you had detailed notes the second time you go through the process.

Once you're in that relationship, have your showrunner's back. Let them know when you're really psyched about something you're working on. It can be a thankless job, they take incoming fire from every direction. Be their strongest voice of encouragement.

If you have disagreements, dig deep and come up with the best articulation of your argument. Cover all your bases. If you're still not seeing eye to eye after that, let it go and move on to the next task. There will always be a next task.

Last tweet:
Know some things are gonna work, some won't. Even Rod Serling copped to making a few "turkeys" with TWILIGHT ZONE. So be generous with praise. Take more than your fair share of blame. Your name is still going to be on the title card, and that is a huge win.