> Screenwriters would seem to be critically important, but writing is hard, often slow and converts much less recognition than other roles in the industry

I can name Levinson and Link. Ronald D. Moore also seemed pretty great. Some writers are talented enough that they can transcend the obscurity granted by their profession, and achieve "cult status" within a small niche who cares about these things.

But frankly, it seems many writers are simply not good. Most TV show nowadays consist of central characters doing dumb things, and needing an episode or two to dig themselves out, acting as filler. Episodic formats tend to promote lazy writing and overreliance on tropes. And it seems to me that most writers watch more TV shows than they read books, given how homogeneous the average popular TV show can be.

Recently I'm learning a lot of names of screenwriters exactly because they tank show after show but they are given yet another chance by producers because one of the things they wrote was mediocre.