Honestly. I have almost zero idea of what a producer does. How involved do they tend to be in the writing/story boarding/editing process? When I see leading actors as 'producers' I imagine its just a way to pay an actor based on how well a show/movie does.

Marvel worked this way as well. You couldn't just kill off a character. You had to get permission all the way up to do so. So I know its not atypical, but I figure that it must be a bit stifling for writers/directors to have to go that far up to make key story decisions.