Fans turn showrunners into Hollywood stars
Co-creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof attend the Lost "Meet the Creator" event at the Apple Store Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA.
Television makes its own stars -- that's a showbiz truism from the days of Milton Berle and Sid Caesar. But these days television is delivering a new breed of star -- the celebrity showrunner -- which is changing the way networks tubthump their shows and deepening the way fans connect with shows.
In some cases, such showrunners are becoming as well-known to fans as the shows' thesps. Think J. J. Abrams, Seth MacFarlane, Matthew Weiner, Joss Whedon, Alan Ball, Ronald D. Moore, Shawn Ryan and Shonda Rhimes. Up-and-comers in this realm include "Glee's" Ryan Murphy; Kurt Sutter, leader of "Sons of Anarchy"; Jason Katims, steward of "Parenthood" and "Friday Night Lights"; Bryan Fuller, of the now-departed "Pushing Daisies"; and "Modern Family" co-creator Steve Levitan.
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