Every spring, NBC and its affiliates band together for a NBC Summer Press Day, showing off their wares for the upcoming summer season.

Mainly focusing on reality shows such as Real Housewives of Dallas or competition shows such as America’s Got Talent and figuring out what Maya & Marty is, the day kicked off with a panel featuring four of NBCU’s freshman showrunners. The talented group includes Jessica Goldberg, executive producer (The Path), Jack Orman, executive producer (Shades of Blue), Justin Spitzer, executive producer (Superstore) and Alan Yang, executive producer (Master of None).

With the exception of The Path, which just launched on Hulu this past week (in a rare weekly rollout for the digital network), all of the showrunners are forging ahead on second seasons, which means they’re success stories for NBCU.

Marketing is essential to stand out in today’s overcrowded market, they said. The panel weas asked how much of a say they got in their shows’ rollouts.

“They let us know a little in advance how they’d be rolling out,” said Spitzer. “I think the way they rolled out Superstore was very smart and interesting.”

Superstore launched in November after The Voice with a two-episode preview. NBC didn’t bring the workplace sitcom back until January 6, in its regular Monday 8 p.m. timeslot. It got 6 million viewers, the highest numbers for a NBC comedy without The Voice as a lead-in since the short-lived The Michael J. Fox Show back in 2013.

“You know a studio and network wants it to succeed and you have to trust their expertise on launching it,” said Orman of his experiences on Shades of Blue. “Usually, we’re on the same page.”

“I’m pleasantly surprised with Netflix and Universal both,” said Yang. “We had an unprecedented amount of control, with input on the poster, the trailer and that kind of stuff. We wanted to be involved in the aesthetic, because that is often an audience’s first impression.”

Goldberg echoed Yang’s comments. “We were really present in how that show was launched,” said Goldberg, of her relationship with Hulu and Universal.

When it comes to ratings, Yang also (unsurprisingly) sings Netflix’s praises, coming off of seven years working on Parks and Recreation.

“We do the show we want to do, and there’s no anxiety,” said Yang. “I had a great time on Parks, but the day after your episode aired you’re checking the ratings. You feel the ebb and flow in the writer’s room. For our show, the reviews are the ratings. After that, we don’t have to sweat it out. It gave us freedom and peace of mind. We don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff.”

On Parks and Recreation, showrunner Mike Schur had to delegate more, and the Netflix model allowed Yang and co-creator/showrunner/star Aziz Ansari more control.

“Because it’s 10 episodes and they all come out at once, there’s a more linear approach,” said Yang. “For season 1, we had a writing period and we wrote all 10 episodes. Once we had all our scripts done, then we went into production, and were there for every scene. Then we started editing. It stretches out the schedule, but allows us to be really hands-on in every process.”

Goldberg addressed The Path’s bold premise, that of a religious-based cult.

“As a topic, you can’t open a newspaper without reading about extreme faith. It’s dictating a lot of problems in the world, and dictating a lot of the best things in the world,” said Goldberg. “It’s exciting and dangerous to put on TV. I was lucky enough to get these amazing actors to do this crazy show. It just launched on Wednesday, I don’t know you call it dropped or whatever on Hulu, and already it’s starting conversations about faith and I think that’s exciting.”

“You can explore stuff and invest in types of material that people generally are more scared of,” said Orman, of Goldberg’s show.

To close out, the showrunners talked about the biggest challenges of their job.

“You have to balance a strategic overall vision and paying attention to a lot of detail,” said Orman. “Essentially, you’re a storyteller and you have to have everybody telling that story. You have to create an environment where [everyone] can be their most creative and do their best work. It’s the multitasking, really, and finding a way to pace yourself through that multitasking and checking yourself and making sure you’re telling the story you want to tell.”

Goldberg added an emotional context.

“I have a 9-year-old daughter and that’s a lot of emotional weight, and then having all these other people you have to be big mama to, it’s much more emotional than I thought it would be, making sure that people are happy and invested in the material and you’re keeping them fed,” said Goldberg. “It’s sort of like raising a child. That level of emotional investment surprised me.”

You have to have confidence in yourself, Spitzer adds. “I have to trust myself always,” said Spitzer. “As the showrunner, you’re the last and most influential voice in every decision that gets made. You also don’t know everything and are not going to be right about everything and have to know when to listen to people around you.”

“There are a lot of moving parts,” said Yang. “One of the hardest parts is the decision-fatigue. You’re bombarded by emails and at some point you get a little tired—not complaining, it’s the best job! The best part is definitely these panels.”

The Path continues every Wednesday on Hulu. The first season for the rest of these shows are available online through various channels.

[Image courtesy of Hulu via ComingSoon.net]

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