Between HBO’s “True Detective” and Hulu’s upcoming “Catch-22,” producer Richard Brown has proved his mastery of the limited-series TV format.
On the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” he shares how he steered his career from music and film to TV once he saw there was a way to make closed-ended stories anywhere from six to 10 hours in length, which was a rarity in entertainment not too long ago.
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“There was a moment when I was quite frustrated with making independent movies and trying to find the money, it was always a struggle,” Brown recalled. “And I was interested in what the possibilities of television would be in the new world of streaming.”
He credited his success in limited series in part to the guidance of Steve Golin, the legendary founder of Anonymous Content, who died last month at the age of 64.
“It occurred to me the other night at his memorial service that the majority of what I know about producing that has any value I’ve learned from Steven,” said Brown. “It also occurred to me many of the people in the room that night felt the same way, which is a pretty extraordinary legacy.”
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Now he’s looking to double down on the genre as he prepares to exit Anonymous, his home for the the past 13 years, for a production company of his own, he revealed to Variety. While he’s not ready to provide specifics on the new venture, he’s keen on working on a slate of not only limited series, but films, docuseries and documentaries (though he will still remain in partnership with Anonymous on select projects).
“I may mess it up but I gotta give it a shot,” he joked.
As to whether we will see more of “True Detective,” which concluded its third season earlier this year, he doesn’t yet know.
“It’s an open question,” said Brown. “I think its going to depend on (show creator) Nic (Pizzolatto)’s appetite to continue. And then if he come up with an idea that excites him and HBO, that’s what it’s going to come down to. But I think there’s definitely an appetite at HBO to continue if Nic wants to continue and has an idea.”
“Strictly Business” is Variety‘s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of entertainment. Listen to the podcast below for the full interview, or check out previous “Strictly Business” episodes featuring former HBO chairman/CEO Richard Plepler, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, and TV star Tyra Banks. A new episode debuts each Tuesday and can be downloaded on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.