To quote Chris Rock: “Shaq is rich; the guy who signs Shaq’s checks is wealthy.” There’s a ton more money in a successful show than what the actors are getting, despite the actors being the reason it’s a success. Producer credits is how they tap into the other income streams.
I’m not sure if it’s WGA rule but writers for TV series are typically given a producer credit of some sort. So if an episode of Parks & Rec was written by Harris Wittels, his name will pop up as a producer. Since many shows have teams of writers, you end up with long lists of production credits. Sometimes those writers are also actors on the show they’re writing for (for example, Wittels plays a member of the Pawnee animal control team, or like BJ Novak on The Office).
I can think of two non-monetary reasons:
#1 - vanity
#2 - the hope that the show wins the Comedy Series/Drama Series Emmy, in which case the actor, as a producer, gets an Emmy statuette for it (although ATAS supposedly confirms that all credited producers have a significant enough part in producing the show that the credit is warranted - otherwise the person does not receive an Emmy if the show wins)
It’s just not true that writers are given a producer credit. The people who do the writing typically already have producer in their titles, but if an outsider does the writing they don’t get anything more than “written by.”
Check the credits for Community, e.g… There are numerous writers who are not producers.
Oh. I did not know that.
With Roseanne, she really was the creative force behind the show. She was one of the most popular women doing stand-up at the time, and this is how ABC lured her off the stage and onto television. And Amy Sherman, who later created and produced Glmore Girls said that she never realized how tough it could be writing for a TV show until after she left Roseanne, because Rosie constantly stood between the network and her staff (at least the writers). She didn’t want them to have to deal with the stupid notes and suggestions, just write in a comfortable environment.
One of my favorite jokes on “30 Rock” (paraphrasing here)
SHOW RETURNS FROM OPENING TEASER
Jack: “Oh Lemon, a producer title is just something they throw an actor to appease his overblown ego.”
TITLE “EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, ALEC BALDWIN” APPEARS.
The Showrunner is usually an executive producer, but being an executive producer doesn’t make you the showrunner.
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were the showrunners for Lost, but look at all the executive producers:
Bryan Burk … executive producer (116 episodes, 2004-2010)
Damon Lindelof … executive producer (116 episodes, 2004-2010)
J.J. Abrams … executive producer (115 episodes, 2004-2010)
Ra’uf Glasgow … producer / co-producer (115 episodes, 2004-2010)
Jean Higgins … co-executive producer / line producer / executive producer / co-producer (115 episodes, 2004-2010)
Jack Bender … executive producer / co-executive producer (114 episodes, 2004-2010)
Carlton Cuse … executive producer (108 episodes, 2004-2010)
Adam Horowitz … co-executive producer / executive producer / supervising producer / producer (97 episodes, 2005-2010)
Edward Kitsis … co-executive producer / executive producer / supervising producer / producer (97 episodes, 2005-2010)
Elizabeth Sarnoff … supervising producer / producer / co-executive producer / executive producer (90 episodes, 2005-2010)
Stephen Williams … co-executive producer / producer / supervising producer (74 episodes, 2005-2009)
Bryan Burk and J.J. Abrams were executive producers because they founded Bad robot and started the show, but they had very little to actually do with it once it was going.
Bryan Cranston talked about how and why he received a producer title for Breaking Bad during his last appearance with Howard Stern.
He said that he could have gotten the title for doing nothing, but he presented an actual case to Vince Gilligan for why he should be made a producer. His argument was that he could help promote the show and help keep everyone in the cast and crew happy. And I assume that Cranston is more involved in the promotion of the show than just making TV appearances. He’s probably involved in promotion strategy, and acts as an ambassador for the show whenever they need him to. I’ve also read interviews where other cast members on Breaking Bad talked about how welcoming Cranston was to all the new actors on the show.
Managing the cast and crew, and promoting the show are not within the “acting” job description. If an actor chooses to take on these roles, they should get paid accordingly. The producer title is one way of making those extra duties official, and compensating someone for their work.
Yes it can be an empty title. Because if you’re essential to the show, you’ll get whatever you want. However, in most cases when an actor becomes a producer, it’s to compensate them for the extra work they can do for the show beyond acting.