Executive producer: Difference between revisions

In the 1963 version of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the executive producer credit was nonstandard, given that the [[Head of Serials]] (or later [[Head of Series and Serials]]) functioned as uncredited executive producer of not only ''Doctor Who'', but all programmes in the department. The only exception was during [[Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 18]]; at the time, the incoming Head asked [[Barry Letts]] to do the job for him on ''Doctor Who'' and oversee [[John Nathan-Turner]]'s first year as [[producer]]. ([[REF]]: ''[[The Fourth Doctor Handbook]]'') Hence, for that year only, an executive producer was credited on BBC-produced ''Doctor Who''.

Since [[Doctor Who (TV story)|the 1996 tele-film]], executive producers have been routinely credited on all [[Doctor Who universe|DWU]] episodes. There have always been ''multiple'' executive producers on each episode of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', ''[[Class (TV series)|Class]]'', and ''[[K9 (TV series)|K9]]'' — except for the official BBC parody, ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death (TV story)|The Curse of Fatal Death]]''.

Different executive producers have traditionally had different production emphases. [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Steven Moffat]], for instance, have been [[head writer|primarily focussed on the writing]], though they have had the authority to make decisions on any production matter they chose. [[Julie Gardner]] and [[Piers Wenger]] have held an executive producer credit largely because they held the position of [[Head of Drama]] at [[BBC Wales]], with Gardner later being the cofounder of [[Bad Wolf Productions]] some time after leaving her position as Head of Drama. In this way, they were not dissimilar to the uncredited executive producers of the past, like [[Shaun Sutton]].

In contrast to the classic series, they have been much more involved with the workaday production of the show. They have made direct contributions to narrative and storytelling, as well. Gardner overrode RTD and insisted that the [[Tenth Doctor]] should leave [[Earth]] for the last time from the [[Powell Estate]], to narratively "bookend" his first appearance on Earth in ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]''. ([[PCOM]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]], part 2'') The "BBC Wales executive producer" also had an active role in major casting; Wenger was directly involved in choosing [[Matt Smith]] ([[CON]]: ''[[The Eleventh Doctor (CON episode)|The Eleventh Doctor]]'') and Gardner negotiated for the [[Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 4]] return of [[Catherine Tate]] largely without Davies' assistance. ([[REF]]: ''[[The Writer's Tale]]'')

=== With Chris Chibnall (2018-2022) ===