|Eric.Kim|

Eric Kim. We go way, way back. I met him when I joined UPN (currently known as The CW network) as VP of Drama Development. He was in current programming and one of the nicest, loveliest humans ever. He was incredibly welcoming and my type of executive: empathetic, passionate, and gregarious.

Today he is Head of Current Programming at CBS. For me, a great current executive’s main job is to be support for the showrunner(s). I think open lines of communication are absolutely key. That and to be able to have those honest, respectful conversations that aren’t always easy to have. It’s definitely a skill set that is honed over time. (One I’m still working on.) You also help put out fires — hopefully before they turn into full on wildfires.

Historically, current execs were (at times) looked upon as the enemy. Years ago, a friend of mine told me that she was assigned to a show where the showrunner was known to be difficult. Sure enough, he fought her at every turn and eventually broke her down. He actually made her cry on a notes call. CRY. Luckily, he was rightfully reprimanded by the head of the department and he never did it again. In fact, they became friends and she ultimately won him over.

I don’t think it’s that way anymore. But I do get it. Emotions run high, there’s a lot at stake (for ALL) and for creators, they put their blood, sweat and tears into their creations. Heart and soul.  And… trust is something to be earned with any relationship and in all industries. Showrunners want to know the execs have their best interests at heart. And they do. They really, really do. It takes a whole community of people to make a show. Millions of dollars that are not yours, are being pumped into a series. Everyone is invested and everyone wants to see it succeed.

Eric Kim is one of those unsung heroes.

RS:  Where did you grow up?

EK:  I was born in Michigan, but when I was 5 years old my parents (both college professors) were offered an opportunity to return to Korea to teach. My older sisters and my mom were VERY reluctant to move, so my father struck a deal with them (I was 5, no one gave a crap what I was feeling); if it wasn’t working out after one year, we would return to the US. My sisters and I ended up staying all the way until we graduated high school.  We only had one English speaking channel when we were growing up (the American Forces Network) so I had no idea which shows we got to watch were on what broadcast networks.

RS:  How did you break into the industry? 

EK:  My first real break in entertainment was as an intern/PA on the movie “Philadelphia”.  I was a senior at Penn, and one of my sister’s best friends was the assistant to Jonathan Demme’s producing partner, so she called me up and asked if I wanted to be a PA for her. I had no idea what a PA was, but I had a very light credit load my last year in college, so I shrugged and said “sure”.

Now, I loved movies, but I never contemplated working in entertainment until that job. Everyone I came across was so nice, dynamic, and smart, and I thought it was just so cool that we were all here to make a movie (if you look very closely in one of the library scenes, you will see me playing a very annoyed student in the background). The movie wrapped and I quickly found myself unemployed after graduation, so I hit up my sister’s friend and got lucky when they hired me as an assistant in Jonathan’s production company in New York.

My first break in TV came after I moved from New York to LA. I was working as a temp at UPN for one day and heard that the head of comedy development, Kelly Edwards, was looking for an assistant, so the HR manager hooked me up with an interview. The assistant at the time was about to get married and had mentally checked out, so I think Kelly was just happy to find someone who was eager to answer some phones and not mess up her calendar.

RS:  Once in, did you ever have aspirations to get into a development job or another aspect of the business or did you always gravitate toward being a current executive? 

EK:  Early on, not so much because I was still learning the ropes and the basics of just how television gets made as a Current Executive. I think over the years there have definitely been times when I have looked over the fence and contemplated pursuing something more purely development focused, or something that combined both, i.e. developing projects and then seeing them through Current if they got picked up to series.

I think many of us who have been doing Current for a while feel like we do possess the skill set to be able to identify new ideas and projects, know what it takes for a show to maintain and find success, and really understand how to work with writers.

RS:  How would you define being a Current Executive for those out there not truly understanding the job? 

EK:  The analogy I often use is that while development builds the train, our job is to keep that train running smoothly on the tracks, on time, on budget, and creatively and financially successful for as long as we can. Specifically, it means we are reading and watching all the material that comes in, giving notes, and generally overseeing all the various needs of a show.

Our job is to keep that train running smoothly on the tracks, on time, on budget, and creatively and financially successful for as long as we can.

Not to mix analogies here, but the other way to look at it is if a show is a wheel, the Current department is the center hub where all the spokes of the different departments run through – casting, business affairs, scheduling, publicity, finance, marketing, research, etc…  We’re the first point of contact for anyone who needs something from the show or producers, and vice versa, we are the point person for the Producers with regards to anything they require from the Studio or Network.

RS:  What do you enjoy most about your job? 

EK:  Just working with really nice, smart, creative people. Reading a great script or watching a great cut. Finding new talented writers and directors, and also seeing some of them go on to great success. Being able to have a small hand in helping a show get made, produced, and aired.

RS:  What’s the most important aspect of your job? The hardest part? 

EK:  I think one of the most important aspects of this job is the relationship you have with your showrunners, and building a sense of trust and responsibility with them.  These are the folks you will be in communication with the most over the life of a series so it’s critical.  The hardest part is probably giving notes! It definitely gets a little easier over time and with experience, but a difficult notes call can still unnerve the best of us!

RS:  How has your note giving skills evolved through the years? Do you pick and choose your battles? 

EK:  Maybe because I’m older I’ve learned to relax a little more. I try to make my notes with Producers as much of a conversation and dialogue as possible. Not saying I’m always successful in this regard, but I strive for that.

I look at covering a show and working with Producers as a long term relationship that will hopefully carry on for not only many, many episodes over a season, but for many more years to come (knock on wood).

And you absolutely must pick and choose your battles — see my previous answer about building a good relationship with your showrunners! Not every note is worth dying on the hill for. I look at covering a show and working with Producers as a long term relationship that will hopefully carry on for not only many, many episodes over a season, but for many more years to come (knock on wood). So you can’t always come out guns blazing on every single piece of material. At the end of the day, even if we disagree on something, that’s totally fine, its part of the creative process, and you ultimately have to trust and let the writers do what they know best.

RS:  What do you wish someone would have taught you early on about how to navigate this job? 

EK:  Seek out mentors and guidance from those who might have more experience. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion. Not every note is worth giving.

RS:  In general meetings with writers, what do you look for? 

EK:  I like to learn who they are as people, where they’re from, how or why they became writers. What makes them tick, what do they like to watch or read. What do they not like.  Have some fun or great stories to share in telling me these things, bring some energy. In a nutshell, have a point of view. Remember we are often taking several general meetings, so you want to leave a lasting impression.

RS:  So… you’re staffing for one of your shows. You read someone you love and set a meeting to get to know them. What are some do’s and don’ts a writer should consider before walking into the room to sit down with you? 

EK:  

— DO know what show you are meeting on (yes, I have had writers tell me they have no idea why they are meeting me).

— DO try to have seen as many episodes of the show you’re being considered for. No one expects you to have watched the last 11 seasons of Blue Bloods, but it would be nice if you’ve taken the time to watch some of the more recent ones. Almost everything can be found online.

— DO have an opinion of the show. It’s okay to be constructively critical. We know what the problems are on a show, or what’s not working and we’re probably the harshest critics of our own shows. Often you might be meeting because we’re trying to find writers to remedy those issues so its good to have opinions.

— DO ask questions. Again, if it’s a long running show and you haven’t seen everything, its okay to ask some specific questions.

— DON’T gossip too much about other writers or shows that you’ve worked on. Little fun anecdotes can be fun, but you never know who we might know or work with.

— DON’T pitch a lot of story or episode ideas you have. That’s something to save for if/when you get an opportunity to meet with the showrunner(s). This is different than having an opinion on the show.

RS:  What level of writer are the Showrunners free to bring onto their show without a network signing off? Any? 

EK:  Well, technically, the network has to sign off on all levels, but in my experience, usually the lower level writers (staff writer or even story editor) who the showrunner(s) have identified don’t get the same level of scrutiny, and we usually trust their choices.  I can’t recall an instance in which a staff writer who a showrunner wanted was not approved.  That being said, I still like to read their sample and meet them since they’re part of the writing staff.

RS:  When reading scripts, do you have any pet peeves re: formatting? 

EK:  I do prefer the standard formatting, but as long as you aren’t wildly diverting from it, I’m okay. But like who is doing that??? What I do find to be a pet peeve are typos and grammatical errors. It happens, I know, but it really shouldn’t…c’mon people! Take the extra time to proofread.

RS:  What are your thoughts on describing a character by ethnicity? Do you think it should be completely left out? What’s an instance when you feel it should be written in?    

EK:  Great question! Honestly, generally speaking I feel like that is the writer’s prerogative depending on what their vision is. If they had an ethnicity in mind while writing it, I’m all for the specificity of the vision they have for the character, the story they are trying to tell, and in the best case, it actually feels additive and organic and adds an interesting layer to the character.

Where I do find things to be problematic is when the ethnicity of the character is specified but then is written in a stereotypical fashion. Sometimes egregiously, but sometimes in small unconsciously biased ways.

On the flip side, if they didn’t specify an ethnicity, I don’t necessarily find that to be problematic because ideally it is leaving wide open the possibility of what kind of casting choices can be made. Who ends up being cast, of course, is another debate and story. Where I do find things to be problematic is when the ethnicity of the character is specified but then is written in a stereotypical fashion. Sometimes egregiously, but sometimes in small unconsciously biased ways.

RS:  I’m stealing a question from the conversation game, “VERTELL?S”: What was the best compliment you’ve ever received?

EK:  I think the best compliment I got was when I heard producers request that I cover their shows.

RS:  What’s been a TV show you wished you had worked on (outside of the obvious CBS show)?

EK:  Haha! Aw, I miss our show RS!

Man, that’s a tough question because there have been so many great shows here at CBS and elsewhere. My mind keeps going to more of a time period in the industry and less about specific shows; a time when there were huge water cooler shows that you couldn’t miss that had massive juggernaut ratings, and how cool and fun it must have been to work on shows during that time — stuff like CSI when it launched, Lost, The West Wing, The Sopranos, etc.., or any of the huge comedy hits like Cheers, Friends, Raymond, etc… You had the whole country, if not the whole world, talking about shows the next day!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the massive amount of choices now in broadcast, streaming, and cable, and really interesting, smart, creative shows would never have been made in the old system. But it’s always really fun when a massive hit comes along that EVERYONE is watching and talking about.

RS:  And finally, your favorite thing to do that helps jumpstart your creative juices?  

EK:  I think playing with my kids or seeing what they’re into. It can be refreshing and eye-opening, but it often just reminds me of how old I am!

And there you have it.  A lovely walk down the Current Executive lane. Thx E!

If you liked this post, you may like: https://rebecca-stay.com/steve-tao-riding-the-current

Bio:

Eric Kim is currently Senior Vice President of Current Programs at CBS Television. In that capacity, he has overseen all phases of production on both comedy and drama series such as Clarice, B Positive, Blue Bloods, FBI Most Wanted, FBI International, and upcoming new comedy Smallwood. Prior to CBS, Eric worked in live action series for Nickelodeon and Teen Nick. Eric was Vice President of Programming at the CW and part of the creative team that launched the new network. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, Eric got his start in the entertainment industry working for director Jonathan Demme in New York. Kim currently sits on the board of Colour Entertainment, a non-profit organization of diverse executives in the media landscape; he is also a Board Member of non-profit Korean American Leaders in Hollywood (KALH).