Packaging the “Purest” form of Indie TV: Michael Sugar, Talent Management and Indie-Auteur Clients

STUBBS, Andrew (2023) Packaging the “Purest” form of Indie TV: Michael Sugar, Talent Management and Indie-Auteur Clients. In: Indie TV: Industry, Aesthetics and Medium Specificity. Routledge. (In Press)

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Abstract or description

In the 2010s, an increasing number of indie-auteurs, filmmakers associated with American indie film, have migrated to television to direct certain premium programmes. Popular and critical discourse has often treated their work as indicative of the indie-auteurs’ autonomy and as playing an important role in the production of ‘cinematic’ television. This chapter, however, explores to what extent these production trends are shaped by talent intermediaries including talent agents and talent managers. To do so, the chapter analyses Michael Sugar’s collaboration with indie-auteurs including Steven Soderbergh and Cary Fukunaga on shows such as The Knick and True Detective. In doing so, the chapter situates Sugar within broader industry contexts and explores how the talent manager contributes to building his clients’ branded identities and indie credibility across media. As a result, the chapter scrutinizes the roles that the indie-auteur plays in expanding the indie discourse within television and contributing to television legitimation.

Item Type:	Book Chapter, Section or Conference Proceeding
Faculty:	School of Digital, Technologies and Arts > Film and Media
Depositing User:	Andrew STUBBS
Date Deposited:	19 Nov 2021 15:56
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2023 14:02
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/7087

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