Greg Berlanti on Incoming Warner Boss and the Ubiquity of Superheroes

Growing up as a kid outside of New York City, Greg Berlanti and his family feasted on Norman Lear’s television shows during the late 1970s and ’80s. On March 19, Berlanti himself — Hollywood’s most prolific TV producer — will receive the prestigious Norman Lear Achievement Award at the Producers Guild of America Awards ceremony. The honor recognizes the impact a person has made on the art and craft of television. In the case of Berlanti, his dizzying array of credits includes Dawson’s Creek — which featured network TV’s first same-sex kiss between men — Riverdale, Brothers & Sisters, Arrow, The Flash, You, Doom Patrol and The Flight Attendant. Berlanti, who lives in Los Angeles with his husband and two children, recently caught up with THR.

Do you know Norman Lear personally?

He called me after the second show that I was a co-creator on, Jack and Bobby. The show only lasted a year, but one of the greatest things it did in my life was introduce me to Norman. He watched it and enjoyed it, so he reached out to me and said, “When do you want to grab a bite to eat?” And so we went for a lunch. That has got to be over 20 years ago. He had no reason at that point in my career to treat me like a creative equal, but he did from the second he met me, up until a few weeks ago when I was sitting across from him at another meal.

What do you consider your television legacy?

People always talk about how many shows I have on the air. It’s because I’ve had the opportunity to support a lot of other showrunners and help other people launch their dreams and tell their stories. In terms of the landscape of television, I’ve taken a lot of joy and a sense of fulfillment in changing the look in regards to certain characters and diversity in front of and behind the camera, and also the LGBT issues that mean so much to me.

You set the record several years ago for having the most shows on the air with 18, surpassing Jerry Bruckheimer. How many do you have right now?

Gosh, I don’t really count because they’re always in different stages. I’d say all of us are working on between 10 and 15 shows at the moment.

Your deal has long been at Warner Bros. How do you feel about the new regime coming in led by Discovery’s David Zaslav?

I’ve met him before, and I’m a big fan. Everyone is excited about the fact that he has such a respect for the legacy of talent at Warner Bros. That’s a cornerstone of his strength. Everywhere you go, everyone seems to be jazzed, and it’s nice to see people rooting for a person and for the place to succeed.

Your interests span so many different sorts of stories, including CW’s Arrowverse. What is it about you that makes you able to do that?

Like a lot of folks, I grew up enjoying all sorts of genres. I was a gay kid who was closeted, who was reading comic books and watching Dallas with his mom. And so it was harder to classify me. People didn’t know if I was gay or just weird. I’d watch The Rockford Files with my dad, and we’d all watch a lot of the Norman Lear comedies together, and then I’d play Dungeons & Dragons during the day and do other geeky things. So I think my career sort of speaks to a lot of those different kinds of things that I enjoyed growing up.

Why are superhero shows and movies striking such a chord right now?

People want heroes again — sort of like the old Westerns — where you know who the good guys are and you know who the bad guys are. They are very aspirational. And technology has really caught up on both television and film in giving us the capacity to render these characters.

Is there one genre you haven’t tackled?

We haven’t participated in a musical, and I love musicals. Doing something in that space would be really exciting for me.

You produced and wrote the original screenplay for the Green Lantern movie, which was a big disappointment.

We’re actually working on a Green Lantern series for HBO Max, so it’s come full circle. The movie did introduce me more to the folks at DC, which led to Arrow. So while it was heartbreaking on the film side, it ultimately led to wonderful things on the television side.

March 18, 12:45 p.m. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Berlanti’s involvement with Green Lantern.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

This story first appeared in the March 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.