Revisión histórica y conceptual de la autoría y sus implicaciones en el medio televisivo: el concepto de autor en las series de televisión contemporáneas estadounidenses

María José  Higueras-Ruiz; Francisco Javier Gómez-Pérez; Jordi Alberich-Pascual

doi:10.31921/doxacom.n28a04

Authors

María José Higueras-Ruiz Universidad of Granada, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6849-3433
Francisco Javier Gómez-Pérez University of Granada, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7539-1681
Jordi Alberich-Pascual University of Granada, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6871-4614

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n28a04

Keywords:

Authorship, showrunner, TV series, auteur theory, collaborative process

Abstract

This paper aims to conduct a historical and conceptual review of authorship in television production, taking auteur theory applied to the television media as a reference. For this purpose, the qualitative methodology has been used to carry out a bibliographic and documentary analysis of the author concept in the film and television industry. Despite the collaborative nature of television production, the results obtained suggest the importance of the TV series executive producer’s individual authorship during this process, who is also known as the “showrunner”. They are ultimately responsible for the project’s production, applying a creative and personal style to their entire work. The authorship, influenced by the television channel and the audience, promotes the consideration of fiction TV series as a quality cultural product, which affects its promotional strategies.

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Author Biographies

María José Higueras-Ruiz, Universidad of Granada, Spain

Ph.D. student in Social Sciences in the Information and Communication Department of the University of Granada, and is a recipient of a grant for Training University Lecturers (FPU) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. She is a member of the research group “CommuniCAV” (PAI SEJ-585), and the research project of excellence “Transmedialización y crowdsourcing en las narrativas de ficción y no ficción audiovisuales, periodísticas, dramáticas y literarias” (Ref. CSO2017-85965-P). She has attended and participated in national and international congresses on communication, and she has had several papers published in significant scientific journals. Her research activity concerns fiction television series production, and the showrunner profile as an executive-creative producer of these audiovisual projects.
Francisco Javier Gómez-Pérez, University of Granada, Spain

Lecturer in the Information and Communication Department of the University of Granada. He is a member of the research group “CommuniCAV” (PAI SEJ-585), and the research project of excellence “Transmedialización y crowdsourcing en las narrativas de ficción y no ficción audiovisuales, periodísticas, dramáticas y literarias” (Ref. CSO2017-85965-P). He is the author of the book Consolidación industrial del cine andaluz (2013), and editor of the book Políticas de impulso a las industrias audiovisuales (2015). He has also published several scientific papers, and coordinated congresses, research meetings, seminars, and educational and business forums on the audiovisual production process.
Jordi Alberich-Pascual, University of Granada, Spain

Senior Lecturer in Audiovisual Communication and Advertising in the Information and Communication Department of the University of Granada. He has developed his research activity as an expert in aesthetic and communication in new media. He is currently principal investigator of the research group “CommuniCAV” (PAI SEJ-585), and the research project of excellence “Transmedialización y crowdsourcing en las narrativas de ficción y no ficción audiovisuales, periodísticas, dramáticas y literarias” (Ref. CSO2017-85965-P). He is author and co-author of several books, such as, Previously On. Interdisciplinary studies on TV series in the Third Golden Age of Television (2011) or Exploraciones creativas. Prácticas artísticas y culturales de los nuevos medios
(2010), among others.

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