What Does an Executive Producer Do?
The Academy bars executive producers from the Best Picture Oscar; the Television Academy makes them eligible for Emmys. Same credit, two different jobs.
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An executive producer (EP) is the credit for someone who made a production possible without running it day to day. In film, that usually means securing the financing, the rights or a key piece of talent. In scripted television, the executive producer holds creative and managerial control of the series, and is usually the showrunner.
No union regulates the credit. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) publishes a Code of Credits with definitions, but the PGA says plainly that it is “a professional association, not a union”, and the Code is guidance. Who gets an executive producer credit is settled in contracts.
executive producer meaning
Executive Producer Meaning: Film vs TV
The title is the same in both media. The job, the rank and the person who holds it are not.
| Film | Scripted TV | |
|---|---|---|
| What the credit means | Made the film possible: financing, rights or key talent | Runs the series: creative and management authority |
| Typical holder | Financiers, rights holders, name actors, sometimes a senior producer | Showrunner, series creator, other senior writer-producers |
| Day to day | Often none on set | Hands-on: writers’ room, production, post |
| Rank | Below “Produced by”, the primary producer credit | Top of the producer ladder |
The PGA’s film code applies “Produced By” to “individuals primarily responsible for the origination and/or management of a motion picture’s production and delivery”. Its scripted-TV code gives the executive producer credit to people “whose only reporting responsibility is to the studio and/or companies financing and distributing the television series”, starting with the showrunner.
In music it is a third thing. The Recording Academy’s producer definitions list the executive producer as a non-eligible credit: “Often a label representative or a person who secures funding for a project.”
what does an executive producer do
What an Executive Producer Does in Film and in TV
In film, the job is front-loaded. The PGA’s code says the credit applies to someone who championed the project early and secured financing during those early phases, and who brought an essential portion of the money (no less than 25%), made a significant contribution to the literary property (typically securing the underlying rights), or both. After that, a film EP is usually informed rather than involved.
In scripted TV, ScreenSkills describes the executive producer as “usually the leader of the whole TV drama – the person who oversees its journey from script to screen.” The job covers:
- Acquiring screenplays and pitching ideas to commissioners
- Handling the legal, financial and marketing side of the series
- Acting as the spokesperson for the production, with the final say
- Sometimes scripting, casting and crewing, or leaving those to the producer, production manager and casting director
The showrunner is a function, not a credit. John August, writing about producer credits, puts it this way: “Showrunner is a function, not a title — this person is credited as an Executive Producer.” IMDb’s help pages agree: showrunners “are not typically credited as such on-screen.”
executive producer responsibilities
Executive Producer Responsibilities by Production Phase
The PGA’s own code lists producing functions across four stages: development, pre-production, production, and post-production and marketing. A hands-on film EP can touch every one. Most cover one or two.
Development
- Secure the financing, or the first part of it
- Acquire or option the rights to the script, book or story
- Attach the director or lead cast so the project can be financed
Pre-production
- Sign off on the budget and schedule at the top level
- Manage the financiers and, where there is one, the completion guarantor
Production
- Stay informed through the producer and line producer
- Resolve financing problems: draw-downs, investor questions, overages
Post-production and delivery
- Make sure the film is delivered to financiers and distributors
- Support the sale at markets or the release plan
The credit is easier to defend when it is tied to a named contribution (money, rights or a defined role) written into the deal.
executive producer credit
The Executive Producer Credit: What the PGA Code Requires
The PGA does not negotiate credits. Its hub page says the Code “is for education purposes only” and that the PGA “is not involved in” negotiating specific producing credits. The PGA has had no collective bargaining agreement since 1975, so there are no PGA “signatory” productions, and it has no procedure for disputing who gets an executive producer credit. Its arbitration decides who may use the p.g.a. Producers Mark, open only to people credited “Produced By” or “Producer”.
What the Code does say is the closest thing to a definition:
- Film. The credit applies to someone who made essential contributions, with early financing plus either 25% or more of the money or a significant contribution to the literary property. It “does not apply to someone who only provides or arranges financing (regardless of the sum)” and has no managerial or creative duties.
- Scripted TV. The credit goes to the showrunner or co-showrunner, a creative producer who packaged and sold the series, the series creator, or a hyphenate producer. It does not apply to people employed at the same time as a studio, network or streamer executive.
In practice, the credit travels further than the definition. Amanda Seyfried called her executive producer credit on The Housemaid “one of those vanity credits”, adding that it was “what your agent negotiated” (Variety, February 2026). Scarlett Johansson asked for hers to be removed from Thunderbolts* “because I wasn’t involved” (Interview, June 2025).
The credit changes what you can win:
| Award | Executive producers | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Oscars, Best Picture | Not eligible | Nominees are “three or fewer producers” credited “producer” or “produced by”. Executive producer, co-producer, associate producer and line producer credits “shall not receive nominations” (99th Academy Awards rules) |
| Emmys, series categories | Eligible | Executive, Co-Executive, Supervising and Producer credits qualify, with the credit on at least half of the episodes and “substantial or final control over creative and financial aspects” (78th Emmy rules) |
Why there are so many of them. In 2013, the 100 highest-grossing films of the year averaged 4.4 executive producers each, against 3.2 producers. In the mid-to-late 1990s the same group averaged just under two (Stephen Follows, 2014). A later analysis of 8,415 movies found the average rising from 1.9 in 2000 to 5.1 in 2021, on a different sample (Follows, 2025). Follows’s 2026 follow-up on the trend puts it simply: “no one is regulating it.”
how to credit an executive producer
How to Format an Executive Producer Credit
The credit label follows the number of names:
Executive Producer
FIRST LASTExecutive Producers
FIRST LAST
SECOND LAST
THIRD LASTShort lists can run inline on one card:
Executive Producers FIRST LAST SECOND LASTFive rules, most of them from the primary texts:
- Use the contract’s wording and order. Producing credits are negotiated. The Academy lists producing nominees “in order based on agreed-upon producer position as shown in legal billing”.
- Keep the p.g.a. mark off the EP credit. The Producers Mark can only be licensed to people credited “Produced By” or “Producer”.
- Never put the mark after a combined credit. The Mark rules forbid “Directed and Produced By [NAME], p.g.a.”
- Credit people, not companies. The PGA’s code and Oscar rules count individuals.
- One person holding two producing credits is listed under each credit. No PGA text forbids it. Write each credit as the deal states it.
Produced by
FIRST LAST, p.g.a.
Executive Producer
FIRST LASTwhere does the executive producer appear in film credits
Where the Executive Producer Credit Appears on Screen
No rule fixes the position. Contracts and delivery specs do. The PGA’s TV awards rules note that a credit’s placement “is often an indicator of that individual’s producorial involvement”.
Film, main titles. Producing credits cluster near the end of the opening sequence, and the “Produced by” name is often second-to-last, just before the writer. Executive producer cards usually come earlier in that run, as they do in a poster billing block, but contracts can change it. For the p.g.a. mark, the PGA requires that “Produced By” be “contiguous to the principal credits of the Motion Picture (e.g. contiguous to the writer or director credit)”.
Film, end credits. When a film has no opening credits, the main creative and producing credits usually move to the head of the end roll, often in reverse order. Otherwise the producing credits are repeated or extended in the crew list. See the film credits order guide for the full sequence.
Television. TV holds most credits for the end of the show, while the main titles carry the major positions: creators, producers and lead actors. The last card of an episode is typically a production-company or vanity card, followed by the network or platform logo. The network or platform’s delivery specs set the final order.
For the complete order of cards across opening and closing credits, see the film credits format and order guide.
what does a co-executive producer do
Co-Executive Producer: The TV Rung
In television, “co-executive producer” is a formal step on the writer-producer ladder. Script Magazine gives the industry-standard order, lowest to highest: Staff Writer, Story Editor, Executive Story Editor, Co-Producer, Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer. The writers’ union uses the same titles as its pay categories. Script Magazine adds that “none of these rules are carved in stone”.
The PGA’s TV code says the Co-Executive Producer “reports directly to the Executive Producer, from whom the Co-Executive Producer assumes direct supervisory responsibilities”. In many writers’ rooms that means running the room in the showrunner’s absence: the show’s number two.
In film the credit is rare. The PGA’s film code lists it only for television movies, and only “in rare or unique circumstances”. John August notes that you will occasionally see it on features. In TV, the credit leads: associate producers and line producers sit below it on the production side.
executive producer vs producer
Executive Producer vs Producer in One Table
| Executive producer | Producer | |
|---|---|---|
| Film rank | Second, after “Produced by” | First: the primary producer credit |
| TV rank | First | Fourth, after co-executive and supervising |
| Main contribution | Money, rights, talent or series authority | Running the production |
| Oscar for Best Picture | Not eligible | Eligible, up to three |
The full comparison, with who has the final say and why actors take the credit, is in executive producer vs producer.
executive producer salary
How Much Does an Executive Producer Make?
There is no pay scale for film executive producers. Follows notes that producers are “typically classified as management rather than labour”, so fees sit in private contracts. Published figures cover broader groups:
- All producers and directors, U.S.: the Bureau of Labor Statistics median was $90,360 a year in May 2025. The lowest 10% earned under $45,780 and the highest 10% more than $198,540. This category includes directors and non-film producers.
- Television writer-producers (WGA East, July 2025): median per one-hour episode of $32,500 for co-executive producers, $52,500 for executive producers and $75,000 for showrunners, with maximums of $70,000, $140,000 and $225,000. Half-hour medians run lower. The data covers guild writer-producers only.
Headline overall deals are not fees. The $100 million to $150 million reported for Shonda Rhimes’s first Netflix deal covers a company’s output over years.
how to become an executive producer
How to Become an Executive Producer
Two routes exist, and they rarely cross.
Through the writers’ room (TV). Follow the ladder above, rung by rung. ScreenSkills says “most executive producers spend many years as producers.”
Through the money or the rights (film). Bring the PGA’s two qualifying contributions: financing, or the underlying rights to a story. A first-time filmmaker looking for an EP often needs a producer instead. As one r/Filmmakers answer puts it, “the person paying for your film is the executive producer. You need a good producer (‘just’ producer).”
No credential creates an EP. The credit follows the deal.
famous executive producers
Executive Producers in Practice: Documented Credits
- Steven Spielberg signed on as executive producer of Transformers in 2004. His filmography lists the credit on that film and seven later entries, through Transformers One (2024).
- Kathleen Kennedy co-founded Amblin with Spielberg and Frank Marshall in 1981. She produced E.T. and Jurassic Park and was executive producer of Schindler’s List (1993). She was president of Lucasfilm from 2012 until she announced her departure on January 15, 2026.
- Jerry Bruckheimer is credited “Produced by” on Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and listed among the executive producers of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The same person holds different credits on different projects.
- Shonda Rhimes is an executive producer of Bridgerton alongside Betsy Beers, Chris Van Dusen and Julie Anne Robinson. The series was created by Van Dusen: an EP credit is not always the showrunner’s.
- Vince Gilligan is credited as an executive producer of Breaking Bad. The showrunner’s on-screen credit is the EP credit.
- Miky Lee, the CJ Entertainment vice chairman, was described by Fortune as the executive producer and top financial backer of Parasite (2019). The film’s “Produced by” line lists other names.
executive producer FAQ
Common Questions About Executive Producers
Do executive producers get paid? Yes, usually. Film fees are private and negotiated. For TV writer-producers, WGA East reports a median of $52,500 per one-hour episode for executive producers.
Why do actors become executive producers? Sometimes they bring financing, rights or attachment. Often the credit is a negotiated perk. The Guardian quotes Gower Street Analytics: “In other cases they’re a name added much later in the day, sometimes after the film is completed.”
Is an executive producer higher than a producer? In film, the primary producer credit is “Produced by”. In scripted TV, the executive producer is at the top. See executive producer vs producer.
How do you get an executive producer credit? Contribute what the credit stands for (financing, rights or series authority) and get the credit written into the deal. The PGA does not award it.
Sources & Further Reading
- PGA Code of Credits, feature films and scripted television
- PGA: Does the PGA do this? and the Producers Mark
- 99th Academy Awards rules (Rule Twenty, Best Picture)
- 78th Emmy Awards rules and procedures
- Stephen Follows: How many movie producers does a film need? (2014), Are movies with fewer producers better? (2025) and Why do films now have so many producers? (2026)
- John August: Producer credits and what they mean
- Script Magazine: Writers’ Room 101, TV Writer Job Titles
- WGA East: Narrative Series Compensation Guide 2025
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Producers and Directors
- ScreenSkills: Executive producer, film and TV drama
- The Guardian: What is behind A-listers queueing up to become executive producers? (January 2024)
- Recording Academy: Producer GRAMMY Award eligible credit definitions
Browse every producing and crew role in the film crew roles directory, or see how the director and the producing team are credited together in the complete guide to film credits.
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