Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1027304
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 I 5 "It's not just the right thing to do, it is vitally important to keep our industry growing, changing and innovating." —DGA President Thomas Schlamme Long-Term Analysis A long-term analysis tracking the career trajectories of 775 first-time directors initially hired in past seasons (between 2009/10 – 2015/16) found that those who were series affiliated were much less likely to direct in the future. An examination of the group's subsequent employment[1] through the current season found that only 24% of series affiliated first time directors went on to direct shows they were not affiliated with in any capacity – a meaningful sign that they plan to develop TV-directing careers. Taking it a step further, series affiliated actors and series affiliated writer/producers were the least likely to go on and direct on other unaffiliated shows. By contrast, 71% of the career-track directors were subsequently hired to direct on other series. The long-term analysis also found that series affiliated directors, as a group, were less diverse. Women directors and directors of color comprised 25% of the series affiliated group, compared with 38% in the career-track group. The most successful first-time directors were career-track women with 88% going on to direct other series. Career track directors of color also did exceptionally well with 76% moving on. On the other hand, just 18% of series affiliated male Caucasians continued with directing on series they were not affiliated with in another capacity. [1] The study tracked the subsequent employment of first time directors through the most recent season (2017/18), which includes a minimum of two (and a maximum of eight) subsequent seasons for each first-time director. The study's results were consistent for the entire period. But beneath the surface, progress on inclusion is complicated by a hiring dynamic in the industry. The study shows that while some actors, writers and others connected to a series do pursue directing after a first-break opportunity, the vast majority do not. The ongoing employer practice of "gifting" out directing jobs to these series-connected individuals who do not go on to pursue a career as a director has a damaging effect on new and established directors alike. The practice acts as a bottleneck to the pipeline, limiting first breaks for diverse directors. In all, some 202 directors who had never before directed episodic television were hired by studios, networks, and executive producers in the 2017/18 season—a slight decrease from last season's all-time high of 225, but considerably higher than all the other seasons covered since 2009. Of the 202 first-time directors, 117 (58%) were "series affiliated," meaning they were already connected with the series for which they were hired as a writer/producer, actor, or crew member. On the other hand, just 70 (35%) were "career-track directors," meaning they had prior directing experience and were either unaffiliated with the series or their affiliation was the result of their prior directing experience. "It seems rather clear: to bring real systemic change for the future—and not just stats from season to season—employers must give even more first opportunities to talented diverse voices committed to a career in directing," continued Schlamme. "It's not just the right thing to do, it is vitally important to keep our industry growing, changing and innovating." The DGA has been pressing studios, networks, and producers to be more inclusive in hiring for nearly four decades. Its efforts include: collective bargaining gains requiring television studios to operate TV director diversity programs, and all first-time TV directors to attend a DGA orientation; ongoing meetings with studios, networks and individual series regarding their hiring records; and publicized reports detailing employer hiring patterns. In addition, the Guild itself has operated numerous TV director mentorship and educational programs to support the career development of its members. For more information about the DGA's diversity efforts please visit www.dga.org. The DGA compiled the statistics for this report based on its proprietary data from the 2009/10 – 2017/18 television seasons. The data excludes pilots. In cases where a first-time episodic director could have been assigned to more than one previous employment category, the DGA placed the director in the category for which he or she is most well-known. All figures were rounded to the nearest percentage.