20 producers in Discovery opening credits, seriously?

[UssGlenn]

So I counted 20 credits for various varieties of producer (producer, co-producer, executive, consulting, etc) This seems excessive for the opening credits. For one thing this is the first time the producers have been in the opening credits, and second I did a couple spot checks and it doesn't seem like there are more than a couple producer credits in the end credits of all the old series. What happened? Even beyond the fact that the producers are multiplying like tribbles, who thought it was a good idea to put them in the opening. This is not a change for the better aesthetically.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I would like to think that the number of producers reflects the complexity and budget of the show, but yes, too many cooks in the kitchen.

 

[The Wormhole]

Typically when you see so many producers associated with a show it's a good indication there was some serious behind the scenes drama going down with the show, which I'm inclined to agree was the case with this show.

As for why they list them in the opening credits, I would guess it's an extension of the fact that for whatever reason, they don't want credits shown during the episode itself. These are basically the type of credits you usually see listed at the start of an episode after the guest stars finishing with the writer(s) and director. See also, guest stars are all listed during the end credits for some reason. This seems an odd move to me, these days opening credit sequences are more or less unheard of with rare examples. Indeed, credits are almost always shown during the show itself. I suppose one could argue that since Discovery is made for a streaming service, they don't have to worry about commercials like other shows do. But then, CBS All Access does commercial breaks anyway, so I don't know.

 

[Christopher]

As for why they list them in the opening credits, I would guess it's an extension of the fact that for whatever reason, they don't want credits shown during the episode itself. These are basically the type of credits you usually see listed at the start of an episode after the guest stars finishing with the writer(s) and director. See also, guest stars are all listed during the end credits for some reason. This seems an odd move to me, these days opening credit sequences are more or less unheard of with rare examples. Indeed, credits are almost always shown during the show itself. I suppose one could argue that since Discovery is made for a streaming service, they don't have to worry about commercials like other shows do. But then, CBS All Access does commercial breaks anyway, so I don't know.

Streaming shows tend to put all their up-front credits into the main title sequence, including the stuff that network shows generally run over the first act. All the Netflix original shows I've seen do the same thing. I think the idea is that, since streaming shows aren't locked into a set running time and don't have to make room for commercials, they have the luxury for long opening title sequences that hold all the credits so they don't have to get in the way of the episode.

 

[Mudd]

Yep, lots of producers, lots of comings and goings.

 

[ITDUDE]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5171438/fullcredits/

Few are there for one or two episodes, but a whole of a heck lot are there for the whole first season

 

[Mudd]

Please don't treat IMDB as reliable or authoritative.

 

[ITDUDE]

Please don't treat IMDB as reliable or authoritative.

Well, I sure as heck ain't going to count number of producers during the credits

 

[Vger23]

I'm going to unsubscribe and stop watching immediately. That's just too many producers.

 

[Cyrus]

Don't care

 

[Blooded]

I love that someone pointed out in a thread somewhere that a lot of people have the word "producer" in their job title, and now there's a group jumping on that and trying to use it as another stick with which to beat the show with.

Give me a break. Lots of shows have numerous producers.

 

[F. King Daniel]

It's a show designed by committee - just like everything else with a big budget.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

For comparison here is the producers list for Game of Thrones all 21 of them

Game of Thrones had a budget of about $10 million per episode. It makes sense that Discovery with its budget of $8.5 million would also have around 20 producers

 

[donners22]

Few are there for one or two episodes, but a whole of a heck lot are there for the whole first season

IMDb had Harry Mudd there for all fifteen episodes as well.

Information there before things air is completely unreliable.

 

[MrPointy]

What episode/s did Joe Menosky work on?

 

[Christopher]

A bit of explanation:

Executive producer: Generally either a creator (Fuller, Kurtzman), showrunner (Berg, Harberts), high-ranking writing staffer (Goldsman), head of a production company making or co-financing the show (Kurtzman & Kadin), or someone with a contractual stake in the property (Roddenberry & Roth). Sometimes a prominent director attached to the show as a staffer rather than a freelancer (Semel, but only on the pilot).

Co-executive producer: Usually the next lower rank of writer-producer (Alexander, Coleite, Randolph, Sullivan, Menosky) or a high-ranking person on the production management or directorial side of things (Osunsanmi, Siracusa).

Supervising producer: The next rank down in the hierarchy (nobody, apparently).

Producer: Can be the next rank down in the writing staff, but all the producers listed here are on the execution side of production, the folks in charge of turning the script into an actual episode (production management, casting, design, construction, filming, editing, music, VFX, etc.). Since it's a pretty elaborate production, it's not too surprising that there are a lot of them. And of course the "producer: Jordan" credits would be for the unit who shot the location filming in Jordan in the first episode.

Associate producer: The next lower tier of producer on the execution/logistical side of things, but generally the main person in charge of actually carrying out the decisions made by the producers and EPs. This was Bob Justman's title on TOS.

Consulting producer: A prominent industry name who's loosely affiliated with the staff as a creative consultant or occasional writer. Basically a freelancer on retainer.

There are also a number of staff writers who aren't mentioned here, including Kemp Powers, Erika Lippoldt, Bo Yeon Kim, and my friend and fellow Trek novelist Kirsten Beyer. Normally the next writing-staff ranks below producer are co-producer, story editor, and finally staff writer, but Discovery seems to have a pretty big gap in the hierarchy -- everyone's either an EP, co-EP, or staff writer. It's kind of the production equivalent of the later TOS movies where the bridge crew was top-loaded with captains and commanders. I'd expect that in season 2 we'd see some of those staff writers get promoted.

 

[BigDaveX]

It's just one of those oddities of Hollywood, in that the number of producers on a TV series has gradually gotten inflated over the years.

On TOS for example, there were generally only two producers credited; Roddenberry, and one from Gene L. Coon, John Meredyth Lucas and Fred Freiberger.

Come TNG however, that number had increased dramatically, with the series creator, showrunner, the people who handled the logistics of shooting and writers all added to the mix. And it's only increased since then, with more people on the corporate side also getting credits these days.

 

[alex08060]

So basically nothing is wrong with discovery since game of throne also has a large number of producers.

 

[BigDaveX]

So basically nothing is wrong with discovery since game of throne also has a large number of producers.

It'd be more accurate to say that both shows have a number of producers that's pretty typical for a modern-day drama series. And that alone doesn't make or break the show's quality.

 

[UssGlenn]

I don't have a problem with the fact that all these people have producer in their job title, I just think it's stupid they are all in the opening credits. I just watched the Game of Thrones credits, they also list a bunch of producers, about 13, but I've never noticed in 7 seasons. For some reason the Discovery titles just make it stick out annoyingly to me, hence my complaint about the aesthetics.