Have you ever wondered exactly how your favorite hit television shows came to be? Not just from the perspective of the actors and the creative people involved in the productions themselves, but the behind-the-scenes stories of the writers, producers and executives whose decisions shaped what you saw on broadcast television over the years. Richard Lindheim worked in television for nearly 40 years in a variety of senior roles. He was in the rooms - and on the sets and locations - where production decisions were made. In this book, he tells the stories of the unlikely choices and circumstances that shaped 'classic' television shows from the 1960s through the early 2000s. He reveals the chaos of creative development, the idiosyncrasies of executive decision-making at the network and studio level, and the delicate balance of personalities and motives that resulted in the (oftentimes unlikely) production of some of your favorite shows. He highlights technologies and services such as internet-connected cars and the 911 emergency call system that owe their creation to television shows. He tells funny stories of what went wrong (and what didn't) on some well-known productions. And he also reflects deeply on his long career, which spanned the dominance of broadcast networks, the growth of cable, the launch of streaming services, attempts at international co-productions, and eventually work with the U.S. Army and other government agencies to create innovative story-based training programs.