BPS 111: The Art of Creative Showrunning with Steve DeKnight

Showrunning is a mysterious art form to many so I wanted to
bringing he someone who can shine a light on what it takes to be
one. Today on the show we have powerhouse show runner, writer,
director, producer, and all-around good guy Steven
Deknight. Best known for his work across the action, drama,
and sci-fi genres on TV shows like Smallville, Spartacus,
Daredevil, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Jupiter's
Legacy.

Realizing his strengths early on in his career, Steven is a
jack-of-all-trades who studied acting at the onset of film school
transitioned through to writing, playwright, and screenwriting.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was his big break - starting off as writer
and story editor on the show, Deknight went on to produce 42
episodes of the Spin-off show, Angel.

The vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and
aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for
his own redemption.

Steven went on to direct and co-executive produce 66 episodes of
the 2001 comics show, Smallville which set a viewers rating record
of 4.34 million viewers per episode and had a great 10 seasons
run.

The series goes along with Clark Kent through his struggles to find
his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for
good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in
Smallville, Kansas.

In 2009, He briefly wrote, directed, and consulted on the
short-lived Dollhouse series. Almost immediately after, Deknight
got an offered to executive produce and write the hit sensation and
everyone's guilty-pleasure, Spartacus. In this interview, he shares
that as the creator of a hit show, it was a major career booster
for him.

A fictional historical drama series inspired by, Spartacus, the
show focused on Spartacus's obscure early life leading up to the
beginning of historical records.

We do a deep dive on how Steve brought the Marvel
universe's darker and grittier character Daredevil to Netflix
that help launch The Defenders superhero on the streaming
giant.

Blinded as a young boy, Matt Murdock fights injustice by day as a
Lawyer and as a street-level superhero by night, in Hell's Kitchen,
New York City.

Deknight finally ventured off into film in 2018 for the big budget.
His feature-film directorial and writing debut Pacific Rim:
Uprising. We go into the weeds on his experience bring a studio
tentpole to the big screen while under extreme pressure and
restraints.

Steve was a blast to chat. Enjoy this conversation with Steve
Deknight.

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