Today, Warren Littlefield is known for producing prestige streaming shows like the FX anthology series “Fargo,” Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and most recently, “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” a biographical mini-series also on Hulu. But before that, he was the president of NBC entertainment during the “Must See TV” era in the 1990s.

“The network days were a different universe," said Littlefield in an interview with “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal. “It’s a very different time.”

Littlefield left NBC in 1998 and moved into independent production shortly thereafter. And while he’s become established as a producer in the world of streaming, he says the economics behind this have only gotten tougher.

“There's still a desire for high quality, complex content,” said Littlefield. “However, there's more pressure than ever before to deliver that for a price. Our job is to figure out how to do it better and get it done for a cost.”

Littlefield spoke with Ryssdal about the realities of making TV today, including the impact of Disney suspending then returning Jimmy Kimmel to the air while under pressure from the Trump administration. The following is a transcript of their conversation. To listen to the interview, use the audio player above.

Kai Ryssdal: I'm going to start with a very basic question. What do you do every day?

Warren Littlefield: What do I do? I think I play in a sandbox about the world of ideas, and what ideas would hopefully make compelling content.

Ryssdal: Do you know like that, that you've got something like. Let's just take "The Handmaid's Tale." Did you know when you read Margaret Atwood's book, man, this is going to be TV.

Littlefield: First thing I read was Bruce Miller's script, and then I went and read her book after I read Bruce's script, and that's when I had the full appreciation of his vision. Sometimes you come to things pretty quickly. When Thomas Perry wrote his book, “The Old Man,” yeah. I was like, okay, and we were only a couple chapters in. I was like, oh yeah. I get this.

Ryssdal: At the same time, though, that you play, as you say, in the field of ideas, in that sandbox, you are known for being a hands-on kind of producer. You go out and you went to the set of “The Handmaid's Tale.” You went to “Fargo.” You went to Europe for the Amanda Knox thing.

Littlefield: Yes.

Ryssdal: Why?

Littlefield: Well, I get really good people that I put together and make a team, and then I want to make sure that they're playing well together. It has to be an orchestra.

Ryssdal: So you're the conductor. That's the image here, right?

Littlefield: Yeah, maybe. And undoubtedly, there needs to be tune up. You need to adjust. The plan is so detailed for a day, and then you have to live in the moment of 'guess what?' I know we laid out moment-for-moment how we're going to make these 12 hours work. And something happens, shit happens, and you better respond to that. I enjoy that process. It's exciting.

Ryssdal: A woman I used to work with here at "Marketplace" said to me once — she was a great field producer. She said, 'you know, the art of being a producer is knowing what to do when the plan goes to hell.'

Littlefield: Yes. Each day you light a fuse and that fuse burns down, and at the end of the day, boom, there you go. All your money's gone. What have you accomplished? So, there's a pressure in that day that's exciting. It also can be crunch time each and every day.

Ryssdal: About the economics of the business you are in: you've said repeatedly over the years, but most recently, these are the toughest times that you've had since — basically, you've been in the industry your whole career.

Littlefield: Yes.

Ryssdal: Explain

Littlefield: Well, there's still a desire for high quality, complex content. However, there's more pressure than ever before to deliver that for a price. Our job is to figure out how to do it better and get it done for a cost. So, when we went and did [The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox], we appropriately went to Italy and shot for almost five weeks. 

Ryssdal: That ain't cheap.

Littlefield: That's right. However, then we spent the winter in Budapest. That was driven by the economics and what we were able to accomplish there.

Ryssdal: You developed this project. You take it to Hulu, and you say, it's going to cost X millions of dollars. And does Hulu say, 'can you do it for X minus Y millions of dollars?’

Littlefield: Yes, they do. That's very much a negotiation. And so, we're fighting for the greatest possible quality to put up on the screen, but that is, without a doubt, a negotiation of what can we make it for?

Ryssdal: Does it kill you to do those negotiations? Because you've got this vision, and not to get all fluffy about this, but you've got this artistic vision, you want the quality, and these guys are counting the bottom line?

Littlefield: That's okay. They're allowed to do that. I want them, and I need them, to succeed so that when we hit audience levels that meet their expectations, that's a win for them. And they have that content across all of their platforms for many years to come. That's the business that they're in. My job is to make it compelling, and now more than ever, get it done for a price.

Ryssdal: What's your sense of making content in this pop cultural moment in this country right now? It's a little dicey for you?

Littlefield: Say this--

Ryssdal: Well, so here's the question I want to get to, and it was awkward getting there. We're gonna leave this in the edit, because people should understand how I'm working this. I want you to put your network hat on here for a second. And I want to ask you about Disney and ABC and Jimmy Kimmel and CBS and Colbert. And what you make of that. Because you're removed from the network stuff, but you got network DNA.

Littlefield: I do have network DNA. I was greatly relieved to hear that Disney and ABC had worked out a plan to have Jimmy come back. And yanking Stephen Colbert was a scary signal. The world of how to navigate politics and broadcasting, and then throw into that mix affiliates and their years of frustration where they felt not seen and heard in the relationship with networks, it's a really complex relationship. The challenges are standing up for things that we think are essential, and free speech feels pretty damn fundamental to me. And ABC-Disney blinked, and I like the fact that they recovered.

Ryssdal: Do you like it better over here in streaming land, or do you miss the network days?

Littlefield: The network days were different universe.

Ryssdal: Different times.

Littlefield: It’s a very different time. There are more buyers out there, and we'll see how many buyers make it. You better be in that top four to five, or I think you're gonna have a hard time sustaining.

Ryssdal: Are you fearful for the future of your industry?

Littlefield: The industry will change as it always has. I think in the world we were in previously, you needed a breakthrough idea. It had to be on the page, and your partners had to feel very confident in who is going to make it, deliver it. You needed, previously, two out of three. Two out of three, and you were making content today. Without a doubt, it's three out of three or you're not in business. I'm not afraid of the world we're in. I'm think I'm aware of the world we're in, and I think that we're valued for what we're able to do at the complexity that is required to do it right now.