Beyond The Budget

A TV show wouldn’t thrive without its dedicated crew, its creative force, and the essential role of production accounting.

In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter sits down with Candy Carstensen and Brad Rees, payroll accountants on one of television's longest-running dramas. Together, they pull back the curtain on what it takes to keep the cast and crew paid accurately, week after week, season after season.

They discuss the shift from paper timecards to digital workflows, what it was like beta testing Showbiz Budgeting, and the implementation of Hours+ across multiple departments.

Key insights from this episode:
  • Behind-the-scenes challenges of production accounting
  • Best practices for managing large-scale production payroll
  • Real-world insights into managing payroll and timecards

Chapters:
(00:00) Meet Candy and Brad
(05:37) The shift to digital workflows
(08:39) Managing SAG payroll with Showbiz Budgeting
(14:17) “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Westworld,” “True Blood” Quiz 
(18:01) Getting departments on board with Hours+
(23:25) The hardest part of the job
(28:35) Driving Sophia Bush in a golf cart

Follow us on our socials:
Learn more on https://castandcrew.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/CastCrew
Instagram: https://instagram.com/castandcrewllc/
LinkedIn: https:/linkedin.com/company/castcrew/
X: https://x.com/CastAndCrewNews

What is Beyond The Budget?

Real talk from production accountants about what it takes to keep a project on track. From budgeting to tax incentives, this series shares how the money side of production really works.