Frank Doelger — TV Producer

A Williams Life

Frank Doelger is a multiple Emmy Award-winning TV producer whose credits include HBO’s Game of Thrones, Rome, and John Adams. Frank begins by talking about Williams and the professors who had an early influence on his career path. He then discusses his time as a graduate student at Oxford, where a chance encounter led to his becoming a theater producer. Afterwards, the conversation turns to how Frank broke into the TV business, initially as a script reader for network television. During the remainder of the episode, Frank details his role as an executive producer on Game of Thrones, one of the most successful TV series in history, and other HBO hit productions. Lastly, we hear about Frank’s latest project, The Swarm, produced by his new production company, and the Winter Study class he taught this past winter.
00:00 Introduction
00:44 Time at Williams
01:40 Discovering Passion for Narrative
04:30 Exploring Career Options
10:14 Journey into Theater
14:33 Struggles and Triumphs of Early Career
17:48 From Unemployment to Columbia Pictures
27:05 Joining HBO and Learning to Produce
31:40 Mentorship Under Linda Gottlieb
35:23 Frank’s first hit—“Taking a Stand” (ABC)
44:09 Rome (HBO): Creating Problem Solving
52:04 Game of Thrones (HBO): Creating Worlds
56:03 John Adams (HBO): Bringing Historical Figures to Life
01:12:00 Balancing Fantasy and Reality on Game of Thrones
01:16:54 Reluctance to Work on Game of Thrones
01:27:53 Working with Writers
01:32:51 Deadlines and Stress
01:35:39 Critics, Criticism and Controversy
01:45:08 The Swarm and New Projects
01:51:58 Winter Study at Williams: Getting to the Big Idea
02:09:52 Reflections on a Career in Television Production

This interview was recorded in February 2022 at CDM Studios in New York City.

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