The showrunner is at the top of the food chain when it comes to making a TV show. HBO Even a casual TV fan has seen the word "showrunner" thrown around. But what does it really mean, and what is a showrunner in charge of?

When it comes to the making of a TV show, the showrunner is the top of the food chain.

"It's a weird amalgam of a creative job and a management job that I'm sure exists in other industries, but I haven't yet come across the equivalent of it yet. It's pretty bizarre, I think," Remi Aubuchon, a veteran producer and the showrunner for Playstation Network's recently canceled "Powers," told Business Insider.

"Being a showrunner is basically like babysitting versus parenting," Bravo's "Odd Mom Out" co-showrunner Julie Rottenberg told us, "because suddenly the baby is yours. You can't just leave at six o'clock when it's time. And you're pretty much responsible for every aspect of the show."

Most showrunners start out as writers, and she said she thinks it's a bit of a miracle that anyone fits the job description.

"I find it amazing that writers, who are often not well suited for managerial roles, are the people who wind up running things," Rottenberg said. "I feel like if you find someone who's a great writer and then is also really great at managing people — it feels amazing to me that that happens as often as it does because they're really two very different parts of your brain."

Business Insider talked to several TV showrunners to shed some light on the "bizarre" but essential roles they play in the job: