This guide is meant to assist showrunners, new or seasoned, determine which elements of their production they need to address with the business affairs department at the studio or network they’re working with. Surprisingly often, the deals and cash flow arrangements that are the backbone of any television production remain hidden from the eyes of the person that needs the information the most, the showrunner.

What is Business Affairs? Business Affairs is the department within your studio/network that negotiates all of the deals that impact your show. Your contract, your actors’ contracts, your writers’ contracts, the licensing deal between a studio and network (if they’re not the same entity), the to any book/article/story you may be basing your show on, and the deals for all of your major creative collaborators. If there’s a deal that needs to be negotiated for your show, Business Affairs is making that deal.

These deals are sometimes intentionally kept from the showrunner, but in most cases showrunners don’t reach out to Business Affairs with the necessary questions. Every showrunner needs to establish communication between themselves and their studio/network’s Business Affairs department. This will build trust and transparency between Business Affairs and the showrunner and allow the showrunner to have access necessary to make proper decisions about their show’s budget and staffing.

Find out who is running point for Business Affairs on your show, give them a call, take them out to lunch, get to know them, and ask them about all of the below.