Top 50 Power Showrunners 2011

For better or worse, 2011 will go down as the Year of the Showrunner. It all began with Chuck Lorre becoming a household name for all the wrong reasons. Then there wasMad Men'sMatthew Weiner making waves during the showrunner's painful, prolonged negotiations with the network he put on the map. The summer saw film auteur Frank Darabont make a stormy exit from his AMC smash hitThe Walking Deadand then be replaced byThe Shieldveteran Glen Mazzara. But the news wasn't all negative. Emmy night awarded comedy kings Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd more gold forModern Family,and thatMad Menguy earned a redemptive trophy for his collection. Plus, the fall saw the return of such established veterans as Howard Gordon (Homeland), Michael Patrick King (2 Broke Girls) and Neal Baer (A Gifted Man), proving that reinvention is a showrunner's most powerful tool. Here,THRprofiles the men and women who make TV's toughest gig look damn good. METHODOLOGY:Selections forThe Hollywood Reporter'sfourth annual list of the top showrunners are basedon the following criteria: 1.Direct responsibility for the day-to-day creative output of a scripted TVshow that has aired for at least one full season (unless he or she also had another show on the air). 2.How prolific the showrunner is: Those with more shows on the air were more likely to be included. 3.Nielsen ratings, especially relative to other shows on the same network. 4.Emmy attention andcritical praise. 5.Professionalism and reputation among studio and network executives. Profiles written by Tim Appelo, Lesley Goldberg, Marisa Guthrie, Philiana Ng, Lacey Rose and Stacey Wilson Comedy Drama Comedy Salim and Mara Brock AkilThe Game (BET)read more Carter Bays and Craig Th...How I Met Your Mother (CBS)read more Jenny BicksThe Big C (Showtime)read more Liz Brixius and Linda Wa...Nurse Jackie (Showtime)read more Louis C.K.Louie (FX)read more Tina Fey and Robert Carl...30 Rock (NBC)read more Greg GarciaRaising Hope (Fox)read more Dan HarmonCommunity (NBC)read more Al JeanThe Simpsons (Fox)read more Bill LawrenceCougartown (ABC)read more Steven Levitan and Chris...Modern Family (ABC)read more Paul LiebersteinThe Office (NBC)read more Team LorreChuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, Two and a Half Men; Bill Prady, The Bi...read more Seth MacFarlaneFamily Guy (Fox)read more Suzanne MartinHot in Cleveland (TV Land)read more Rob McElhenney, Glenn Ho...It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)read more Trey Parker and Matt Sto...South Park (Comedy Central)read more Tyler PerryHouse of Payne, Meet the Browns (TBS)read more Mike SchurParks and Recreation (NBC)read more David ZuckermanWilfred (FX)read more