Packaging House of Cards and The Knick: How Talent Intermediaries Manage the Indie-Auteur Brand to Sell Premium Television

The article explores the migration of indie-auteurs to television during the 2010s. Using David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh’s work on House of Cards and The Knick as case-studies, the article argues that talent intermediaries such as producers and talent managers have sought to mobilize the indie-auteur, a branded identity and authorial discourse, to package premium television programmes to exploit growing competition between channels and platforms. The article also explores repercussions of the indie-auteur’s insertion in television as a mark of distinction, arguing that it becomes increasingly important to be aware of the systems behind it.