Meaning & use
executive producer
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person with overall financial or creative control of a film, show or album, who usually arranges funding rather than managing daily production.
Grammar: Often shortened to EP; a project may have several, as in three executive producers.
Patterns
- executive producer of something
- executive producer on something
The star also served as executive producer on the series.
An executive producer secured the money needed to start filming.
She became executive producer of the network's flagship drama.
nouncountable
In television news or live programmes, the senior person who decides what content goes out and oversees the whole production team.
Grammar: Used with a programme name: executive producer of the evening news.
Patterns
- executive producer of something
The executive producer decided to lead the broadcast with the election story.
Our executive producer approves every script before the show goes live.
He worked his way up to executive producer of the morning programme.
Word forms
| plural | executive producers |
|---|
Common combinations
- serve as executive producer
- The director will also serve as executive producer.
- credited as executive producer
- She is credited as executive producer on all three seasons.
- hire an executive producer
- The studio hired a new executive producer to rescue the show.
- co-executive producer
- As co-executive producer, he helped shape the writing team.
- executive producer credit
- The singer received an executive producer credit on the album.
Synonyms and how they differ
- producer
- A producer is usually more involved in the day-to-day running of a project, whereas an executive producer sits above that and often handles funding.
- showrunner
- Showrunner is specific to television and means the person who actually controls the writing and daily production, which an executive producer may or may not do.
- financier
- A financier only provides money, while an executive producer may also influence creative decisions.
Word family
- produce verb
- to make or oversee a film, show or recording
- producer noun
- a person who organizes the making of a production
- production noun
- the making of a film or show, or the finished work
- executive adjective
- having power to make decisions and carry them out
Commonly confused: executive producer or executive director?
executive producer vs executive director
An executive director usually runs an organization such as a charity, not a film or show.
Practice
The actor was not involved in the filming, but he put money into the film and is named as ___ in the credits.
Choose one answer.
An executive producer typically provides funding or overall authority. A stagehand, editor or stunt double does a hands-on job and would not be described by funding.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “executive producer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.