Quotes by Shawn Ryan

About Shawn Ryan:

Shawn Ryan is an American screenwriter and television producer best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series The Shield (2002–08) and The Chicago Code (2011). Ryan also co-created the ABC series Last Resort (2012–13), and produced The Unit (2006–09), Lie to Me (2009–10) and Terriers (2010).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I'm very humble in terms of knowing that television is an extraordinary collaborative medium and that one person alone cannot make a great TV show.

Shawn Ryan

I was never that kid who grew up in New York and was always at the arthouse watching important films. I was the kid who grew up in the Midwest where there weren't any art films, and I watched TV. And that was really the medium that affected me and th...

Shawn Ryan

I've worked in network and cable on and off for a number of years, and you just understand what your parameters are. A lot of times, I think the best work that my team has come up with comes from having to deal with certain boundaries.

Shawn Ryan

The payment for sins can be delayed. But they can't be avoided.

Shawn Ryan

TV is just such a fast-moving medium that you do what you can do, and what you can't do, you don't worry about too much.

Shawn Ryan

I have no problem at all going back and forth between cable and network.

Shawn Ryan

I'm perfectly happy to color within the network lines when I have to.

Shawn Ryan

I don't want my writing to be so unique that when you apply it to different genres, it seems like the previous show that people know you from.

Shawn Ryan

I don't want my writing to be recognized.

Shawn Ryan

I would say on a creative level I put a lot of pressure on myself.

Shawn Ryan

The payment for certain sins can be delayed. But they can't be avoided.

Shawn Ryan

In order to appeal to a wider audience on network in order to survive, generally your characters need to be, at a base level, a little bit more likable.

Shawn Ryan

There are certain economics involved in making a network TV show that you want to amortize the costs of that, so the more episodes you make, the cheaper they all are individually.

Shawn Ryan

There will always be economic pressure to make hits, identify hits, and then exploit hits. And you're going to exploit them with as many episodes as you probably can.

Shawn Ryan

I don't ever want to have a weak episode of television with my name on it.

Shawn Ryan

Everyone in Hollywood who is successful becomes less successful at some point. I'm just trying to delay that fall for as long as I can.

Shawn Ryan

I think the bar is higher these days in terms of audience expectations of authenticity.

Shawn Ryan

I still feel driven to try to make great shows and to make each episode great.

Shawn Ryan

Series finales have that responsibility to leave you feeling good about entire series. You want to feel like the viewer closes the book satisfied. And if you strike out on the finale it skews how you feel about the entire series.

Shawn Ryan

You can make a good show, but you still need some magical alchemy to get people to watch.

Shawn Ryan

Author Bio

  • NameShawn Ryan
  • Descriptiona writer and television show creator
  • BornOctober 11, 1966
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionScreenwriter