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

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.