The producer is the host?

[scully24]

Actually when it comes to sitcoms and one-hour dramas, those "producers" are all the staff writers on the show.  In television, unlike in feature films, the writer is king, and as he/she gets promoted, they move up the ranks with titles like coordinating producer, supervising producer, executive producer.  When you see all these producing credits, just substitute the word "writer" for "producer."  Of course there are also vanity credits given to certain stars, but in the case of a performer like Ray Romano, or say, Jerry Seinfeld, his producer credit would be an acknowledgement that he does contribute creatively to the writing of the show and he exercises a fair amount of control over the show's creative direction.

[scully24]

By the way, when they give somebody like Whoopi Goldberg an exec producer credit on Hollywood Squares, it does stand for something more than just ego appeasement.  It is a reflection of the fact that at the time they revived the show, she was a cornerstone of the deal that made it possible.  Whoopi's role in the show's revival was to attract A-list stars along with herself, and make the format viable again after it had fallen out of popularity.  She was still a fairly in-demand movie star at the time of the revival, and without her participation and her active recruiting of other stars to be on the show, it probably would not have been sold.  So particularly because of her ability to recruit good stars for the show, she rightly deserved to share in the exec producer credit.  In a sense, her contribution was as valuable as those who actually put up money to produce the show.

[SplitSecond]

[quote name=\'scully24\' date=\'Dec 2 2003, 10:50 AM\'] Interestingly, the head contestant co-ordinator for Pyramid, Leslie Aquavive-Shulman, also bears the title of "Contestant Producer" on the show.  This is the first time to my knowledge that a contestant coordinator has been given a producer title on a show. [/quote]
 Actually, Laura Chambers held it when she did Weakest Link.  I think that the current head of the contestant department on Feud has that title.

Of course, the strangest contestant coordinator title I've seen given was Harv Selsby's on Win Ben Stein's Money: "Talent Executive"

[scully24]

That's a good one!

When I think of talent executive, I think of someone who books and preps celebrities for celebrity shows--not someone who recruits conventional contestants.  I guess it takes a lot of talent to beat Ben Stein!

[chris319]

Y'all are confusing the terms "producer" and "packager".

Monty Hall, Ralph Edwards, Merv Griffin, Jack Barry = "packagers". They own the show.

Larry Hovis (Liars' Club), Alex Trebek (Jeopardy!) = "producers". They approve material and contestants.

Bob Barker, Whoopi Goldberg = "executive producers". They can't be bothered with the minutiae of prizes, questions and contestants. Their role is to complain when they don't like the prizes, questions and contestants chosen by the producer who works under them. Barker probably approves new games and Whoopi recruited panelists.

There are probably "vanity producers" who get their name on the credits as a perc to emceeing the show.

[scully24]

I don't think there's any confusion.  I think the point we're all making is that the term "producer" is a huge umbrella that covers a wide variety of roles, from the barely involved to deeply involved, from the folks who conceive a project to the folks who run it day by day.  But "producer" is the word that flashes by on the credits, with various adjectives attached.  And it carries with it a certain aura of respectability that is sometimes deserved and sometimes not.