Warren Littlefieldhas now been a producer longer than he has been an executive.
He also discusses whether the ongoing contraction is here to stay and if non-writing producer remains a viable profession.
None lasted more than one season.
Protesters dressed as handmaids from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ during a march from Parliament Square to Iran’s embassy in London to highlight repression of women in that countryDan Kitwood/Getty Images
But nothing stuck, Littlefield said.
Because I was the web link guy, but, as a viewer.
I was watching cable and loving it.
It was assigned the Thursday 8 p.m. time slot of death and lasted two episodes before being pulled.
As the two were licking our wounds, Littlefield pitched Hawley a TV series based on Coen brothers classicFargo.
Noah looked at me and said, Dont ever let me go back to web connection.
I was like, you and me, both, baby.
And that changed everything.
She is also directing the final block of episodes, which is now in prep.
Here is what Littlefield teased about the Emmy-winning dramas final chapter.
A lot of people wont make it to the end ofHandmaids Tale.
Its pretty chilling, but also exciting, he said.
There has been chatter that the project is heating up for a series greenlight.
She is one of several major stars he is developing new series with.
Noah has a lot on his plate, theyre very excited aboutAlien, Littlefield said.
Its really about finding a window where Noah can slip it in.
Littlefield highlighted the flexible timetable the series has been on.
So yeah, Im hopeful about that.
(The Old Mans seven-episode first season started filming in 2019; it premiered in 2022.)
Thats outstanding, Littlefield said of the nominations.
And weve made 15 episodes in five years.
What a crazy journey its been; I love everyone involved with the show.
Well see, he added about getting another season.
Its not an easy transition, and few have done it successfully.
The broadcast volume has gone down, with four networks ordering fewer shows and just a handful of pilots.
The ongoingmedia layoffshave left more TV executives out of a job and pondering a transition to producing.
But is that still a viable career path?
I think it is tough.
You spend a lot of time and a lot of money just on a speculative nature.
Littlefield noted that his company has not been impacted and has production commitments for the next two years.
But I think theres a lot easier ways to make money than doing what we do.
I hope, I hope it gets redefined, so that we dont become extinct.
So those who dont have that, I am not sure how they make that work.
Is Hollywood contraction permanent?
Still, what the industry has faced the past four years has been pretty unprecedented.
Keep the bar high and keep the price down, I dont think thats going away.
One thing that has improved series financial standings is the phasing out of Covid-related costs.
Will we feel the financial pressure that were feeling now?
Yes, but hopefully therell be more people at work, and therell be more projects that get made.
Look at whatTrackerdoes for CBS, which is made by 20th, again, tremendous success story.
All of The Littlefield Companys series to date have been for cable and streaming.
Maybe well score there, maybe we wont, Littlefield said.
That could be a sitcom, a genre Littlefield started his career as a producer in.
Some of them have landed, others I think will in the new year.
2025: Year of comedy and unscripted
Half-hour series is one of Littlefields two main priorities for next year.
I think 2025 will be a comedy year for us, as well as unscripted, he said.
Having done several series for Hulu, Littlefield teased a couple of projects in priority development with Disney+.
Thats another platform in the Disney universe that we want to be more present with.
Many people in my life said, you gotta stay in California and run your company.
If I focus onFargoand now onHandmaids Tale.
A decade later, that outlook has not changed.
The following day, he was leaving to Budapest to continue production on the true crime limited series.
My family said, are we going anywhere for the holidays?
And I said, not me.
I think for so long, the focus was about what the U.S. audience would find appealing.
And I think todays wisdom is an international imprint and appealing to audiences throughout the world.
The next 25 yearsLittlefields plan for the next stage of his company is pretty simple.
He recalled a piece of advice he got from his former boss at NBC.
Grant Tinker taught me: respect the audience, good things will happen, so I carry that forward.
I think well continue to do that.
One thing that is not in his plans returning to the executive ranks he left a quarter century ago.
My response was, I dont think this is a better job than what I have.
Im making outstanding content with really interesting people all over the world.
Littlefield had some advice for his successors in the executive suites.
Be bold, take risk.
