Catherine Oxenberg Quotes

Before 'Entourage,' I couldn't get a sitcom.

By my third year of Law and Order, I was climbing the walls. But you don't leave a hit show, especially when you have a five-year contract.

There's probably a little more creative freedom in cable versus network, a little less of a committee looking over everyone's shoulder, but it depends on the network; it depends on the show; it depends on who the head writer or show runner is and what track record they have.

In television, the writer-creator-showrunner is embraced as the creative mind.

I've met big-name actors doing Hollywood films, and they've said that all they want is an in at HBO and their own show.

The term 'Consulting Producer' is extraordinarily nebulous in TV, and it really means something different depending on the show and the specific circumstances negotiated.

I'm not contractually obligated to sequels on anything.

The thing about TV is it's a meritocracy. I love that aspect of it - and I've had shows that have gone on the air and been canceled. I've seen the good and the bad of it.

In the TV world, we are seeing a lot more power going to the writer. I sense it is a writer's medium.

Before 'New Girl,' I had just been grinding in TV for a really long time. I had been testing for so many shows and not getting them. You don't know how difficult it is or how lucky you have to be - and I only say lucky because there are so many people out there - to get a show on the air and keep it going.

I literally will write Shonda Rhimes, the creator of 'Grey's,' an e-mail once a month or so and just say, 'Hey, I love you and thank you.' That was my moment. Because of that, I'm doing 'Magic City.'

I did a network show in the U.S. before, and I loved it, but you have eight days to shoot an episode, and it's just a ridiculous pace.

What's really amazing is that the showrunner who really got me my start in TV is Andrew Kreisberg. He brought me on to 'Arrow,' and he tracked me down because he was a fan of 'Punisher.'

I don't think of myself as a producer. In television, it's part of the business - if you progress and become successful as a writer, you're called a writer-producer. What that means is that you have a lot of say in casting and behind-the-scenes stuff. But I'm just a writer.

I worked on 'Game Of Thrones' for six years, so I'm very well equipped to handle hype surrounding television shows.

I had 'Breaking In' at Fox, and that was a constant stopping and starting of getting canceled and picked up again.

Being a showrunner is tough, but it is incredibly rewarding and it is, without a doubt, the best job I've ever had.

When I finally got my break in TV, as a staff writer, I always wanted to be at the top of that pyramid. I always wanted to make the decisions. I always wanted to be the one that was saying, "This is what the show is, and this is what the show is not. This is where we're going. It's going to be this kind of series." It was just something I always had my eye on, when I started in the business.

In television, the creator is really the voice...

I learned that a television show is not a collaboration. You give your 180 percent, but you do not question the show-runners. I remember doing a reading, and my part was kind of small that week, and I commented on it, and the next week, they cut me out of the show. So I learned that you never ask questions. In TV, you always assume you're going to be fired.

I think if you work in television everyday, and you must be privy to everything happening in television, then do so.

I have a great set of executive producers helping me out. I have a great cast and crew. AMC has been fantastic. I'd say it's everything I was doing before, just eighteen other jobs. I love it.

I think that it's just extremely rare to see any kind of TV show that's completely written by one person, regardless of what any showrunner will tell you.

When you sign a contract, that's your deal. Everyone has different deals anyway.

It's been a pretty amazing experience, getting to go from 'Bosch' to 'The Vampire Diaries' back-to-back, with a little 'Castle' in between.