“They were always trying to minimize the work of writing and how important it was,” Fanny Herrero said this morning during a keynote at the Goteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision sidebar.
The perpetrators she had been describing — whom she spent much of this morning’s session politely criticizing — were the producers of the hit French comedy Call My Agent!. Herrero was a writer and showrunner on the comedy before leaving after season 3, for what she described as the constant tussle between her position as lead writer and the show’s producers who she said favored the authority of series directors during production.
“Having to fight all the time to be recognized and have the money that goes with it. In the end, the conflict was too fierce, so I said bye,” Herrero said.
“I wanted them to realize how much work I did and how important it was. I said to them, good luck, go find someone else, because they were always trying to minimize the work of writing and how important it was. They never protected or prioritized me. They would trust the directors too much. Producers should try to find the right balance between protecting everyone and making sure everyone can give the best of themselves. And they didn’t do that with me.”
Herrero added that her desire to take a break from the show’s intense production schedule was also a major factor behind her decision to step back.
“I took a year off. I was so exhausted,” she said, before adding that she also had a child between her last two seasons leading the Call My Agent! writer’s room. “I was really out of strength and needed a break,” she added.
Herrero said the fight for her creative contributions to be recognized lasted throughout her time working on the show. She joined as a junior writer in season one.
“At the time, the producers believed only in the power of directors, so they would immediately choose the director. I didn’t accept it, but I tried to push back smoothly at the start,” she said.
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of energy I put in during those years trying to be gentle and diplomatic to men. It’s really something how we women try so hard to not be pushy or annoying. I sometimes wished I could put that much energy into just doing my job.”
Herrero added that her time battling for a position in that strained creative process empowered her to create a space for herself.
“I always made sure to participate in the main decisions because I was so determined. I never gave them a choice,” she said. “So for all the main decisions for season one such as casting, for example, I was at the table. I told the producers you cannot do that without me.”
Call My Agent! ran for one more season following Herrero’s exit. Herrero later went on to create the series Standing Up at Netflix. Herrero also served as one of the co-writers of the much-talked-about Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony.
Of her time planning the ceremony, Herrero said her main takeaway was the importance of “collective intelligence.”
“That’s the key,” she said.
Göteborg runs until Feb 2.
