Michael Wright

August 5, 2013 World Screen

This interview originally appeared in the MIPTV 2013 issue of World Screen.
 
Since The Closer launched, in 2005, and became a hit for TNT, the basic-cable network has been aggressively increasing its original productions. Michael Wright, the president and head of programming for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), wants to provide the audience with sophisticated, fun storytelling and complex characters that respect viewers’ intelligence.
 
WS: How important has it been for TNT to have a strong brand identity?
WRIGHT: It’s vital today. My own personal belief is that people tend to turn on a television show looking for an emotional experience. In that context, for a network to be very clear about what it stands for and the kind of experience it intends to deliver to the viewer, a brand is incredibly important. People have 250 channels available on their televisions. They’ve got an endless supply of options available to them: the Internet, DVDs and their DVR. With that many choices you’d better be really clear to the viewer about the sort of experience you intend to deliver. That’s where brand becomes really, really important.
 
There are brands within brands. TNT is the drama network, but there is a brand within that brand, in terms of people coming to TNT for original programming. Internally we use the phrase “smart popcorn,” smart escapism. We are going to show you a good time. Whether you are coming to TNT to watch a crime drama, an action-adventure series, a science-fiction series, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Whether it’s Falling Skies or Major Crimes or some of the new shows that we are putting out, they are all designed to take viewers away from the troubles of the day, take them on a great ride and land them safely at the end. That’s our brand at TNT. That specificity really helps us.
 
WS: Does a clearly defined brand also help creators who come pitch shows to you?
WRIGHT: Yes. People throw around Brandon Tartikoff’s name. I was really blessed to have met him toward the end of his life and I had a series of lunches with him. I asked him a lot of questions and one of the most earnest questions I ever asked was, “If you could tell me one thing that networks have to do to be successful, what would it be?” And he said, “There are two things: first, you have to create an environment where talent comes to you first.” The logic being any idiot should be able to put together a partially successful lineup if the most talented people in the business are bringing their wares to you first. Conversely, if they are coming to you last, you’d better be a genius, because a lot of the good stuff is gone by then! So having a creative environment where they come to you first is rule number one. But rule number two informs number one. He said, in order to make them come to you first, you have to create an environment where the talent fundamentally understands that they are going to be creatively and commercially supported. Commercially supported means we schedule you thoughtfully, we market you enthusiastically and we stick by you, win or lose. But being creatively supportive comes from that first meeting when you are sitting down with a showrunner or creator. If you spend a lot of time upfront describing the network and the brand and the kind of shows you are looking for; if you know which writers, and this is key, [write in a] voice…appropriate to your brand; and if you and the writer both agree, this is the kind of show we’re trying to make. If you do those three things, then you get out of their way. If you’ve communicated really well, then there is no confusion going forward.
 
WS: Are cable networks more willing to take risks than broadcast networks?

WRIGHT: There are cable networks that play it safe and there are cable networks that take huge risks. There are certain networks that one would look at and say, boy, that network sure is playing it safe. But I would counter and say, no, they’re not, they’ve identified the audience that likes that kind of programming. A network that has cultivated a certain kind of brand and delivers programming that someone might objectively look at and say, that’s pretty down-the-middle programming, isn’t necessarily risk-averse. They might be running a very smart business because they’ve identified an audience, branded themselves for that audience and are programming to it. On the other hand, there are other networks that have branded themselves as risk-taking, darker, more provocative, which is good for them because I personally believe that the great thing about cable is that there is something for everybody.