John Altschuler, the co-showrunner of Silicon Valley and King of the Hill, wants Europe to show more respect to writers.
The scribe, part of a writing duo with Dave Krinsky, called this facet of the European production system the “biggest difference” with the Hollywood studios’ approach. However, he did credit the European view that TV production is seen through cultural and artistic filters.
During a keynote interview at Iberseries & Platino Industria in Madrid, he urged European TV makers to better recognize the role of its screenwriters and the wider role of the showrunner. While Hollywood “despises” writers, he argued, “They know without a script you have nothing.”
His comments came an on-stage interview with Gersh agent Roy Ashton, in which he described the “greedy, ravenous, terrible people” that HBO’s Silicon Valley was based on, and revealed a new UK-Irish co-production.
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During a well-received session in front of a Spanish audience, Altschuler outlined the differences between European and Hollywood production systems – and was particularly down on how Europe views scriptwriters and showrunners. “The studios have always hated writers – the first organized union was the Writers Guild – but they know without a script you have nothing and TV doesn’t exist without writers being being in charge.”
In contrast, “The writer doesn’t exist in Europe,” he added. “I meet companies and they won’t have scripts. America has a writing culture – everything from Hollywood has always been about the writer and the script. There is something wrong with a system that devalues any element of the creative process.”
Altschuler recalled a story about shooting a project in Berlin, Germany, and asking for a showrunner, only for a French exec to question how a director “could possibly” report to a writer. “It’s very strange the way Europeans have embraced the showrunner, but don’t quite understand the concept, in [terms of] what it means for television.”
However, he believes Europe does hold sway over the U.S. in certain respects, as he outlined as he revealed was in town to shop an Irish-UK international co-production based on a book about the drug trade.
“I believe there are underlying strengths of the Hollywood system you do not have here, and there is also a feeling towards art and culture we don’t have in America,” he said. “Bringing them together is something a little more interesting, and that is how I believe we will succeed in the marketplace.”
Altschuler revealed he is developing a series based on The Gangster’s Guide to Sobriety: My Life in 12 Steps, which he co-wrote with Krinsky and Richie Stephens, the Irish actor. “That’s why I’m in town,” he added.
Elsewhere in the talk, Altschuler recalled bonding with King of the Hill co-creator over their middle-class background. “We hit off right off the bat,” he said. “He had a similar background to me. We had a horrible stink pf the middle class. In Hollywood, they despite the middle class.”
After working his way up on Judge and Greg Daniels’ Fox show for several years, Altschiler and Krinsky eventually became showrunners for five seasons. “It was fantastic,” he said. “I worked with everyone from Brad Pitt to Ben Stiller Jennifer to Aniston, because it was a show everyone wanted to be on. It opened up so many doors for us to create our own shows and do our own features.”
More generally, the experience has stayed with him as mark of a different Hollywood. “I do miss the structure of the business,” he said. “There were frustrating things about it, but that is something that is a little bit lost now.”
The role ultimately brought Judge, Altschuler and Krinsky to Silicon Valley and the culture of technologists. “Nobody was doing anything about technology,” he said. “The closest was Big Bang Theory, which was just about geniuses and didn’t get it right, and when Dave, Mike Judge and I do something we try to get it right, so that’s why I did Silicon Valley.”
After meeting with several real Silicon Valley execs, who claimed they were “not interested in making money but making the world a better place,” the trio decide to develop their series.
“These really are some of the most horrible people on Earth. They are greedy, ravenous, terrible people,” he said, adding, “I like big targets.”
Altschuler was asked to give his take on the business in the wake of the 2023 labor strikes. “It was always hard,” he said. “It was easier when I came in, but it has always been a game of chance. You have as much chance to succeed as ever it’s just a little more unclear of how to get there. With more avenues [available], it is the good and the bad.”