Liz Gateley
Liz Gateley currently serves as senior vice president, series development, for MTV. Liz is also a founding partner and co-owner, along with Tony DiSanto, of DiGa, a studio and production company hybrid. In what Liz describes as her “dream job,” she is responsible for leading the development of ground-breaking new weekly and daily series for the channel including both scripted and reality projects.
Ms. Gateley is probably best known for creating the game-changing hit reality series, Laguna Beach, inspired by her childhood growing up in Palos Verdes, California. It was the first thing she pitched at MTV back in 2003, the summer in which she started, and she went on to serve as executive producer of that series. Her next creation was 8th & Ocean, which also went on to become a hit series for MTV. Since then, she has developed a diverse slate of hits series for the network, which most recently included Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, on which she also served as executive producer. Ms. Gateley has successfully expanded MTV programming to include hit shows such as The Hills, Randy Jackson Presents America’s Next Best Dance Crew, The Buried Life, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, Nitro Circus, The City, Human Giant and Run’s House as well as the revealing 2009 documentary, Britney Spears: For the Record which kicked off Britney’s comeback.
High profile projects in development under Ms. Gateley’s guidance include the series “Teen Wolf,” a thriller reinvention of the 1985 blockbuster film, and the critically acclaimed British hit series, “Skins.” Recent projects include two scripted comedy series, The Hard Times Of RJ Berger and Warren The Ape which aired in June 2010.
Prior to MTV, Ms. Gateley worked at Lifetime Television where she was responsible for the development of primetime and daytime scripted and reality original series and specials, including Strong Medicine, The Division, Intimate Portrait, and Weddings of a Lifetime. Before Lifetime, Liz got her first shot in the entertainment industry while working at William Morris Agency in their agent trainee program. Liz is also an attorney who practiced corporate law.
She graduated from Loyola Law School with a J.D. degree after earning a B. A. in Economics/Business from University of California, Los Angeles.
Gateley reports to Tony DiSanto, President of Programming, MTV, and is based in New York City.
Other works
- Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life (2013) - Executive producer
- Hard Times of RJ Berger (2010) - Executive producer
- Warren the Ape (2010) - Executive producer
- Teen Mom (2009–2010) - Executive producer
- The City (2009–2010) - Executive producer
- Taking the Stage (2009–2010) - Executive producer
- The Hills (2006–2010) - Executive producer
- Paris Hilton's My New BFF (2008–2009) - Executive producer
- Scarred (2007) - Executive producer
- Maui Fever (2007) - Executive producer
- Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County (2007) - Executive producer
- Human Giant (2007) - Executive producer
- 8th & Ocean (2006) - Executive producer
- The Shop (2006) - Executive producer
- Run's House (2005) - Executive producer
- Stankervision (2005) - Executive producer
- PoweR Girls (2005) - Executive producer
- Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County (2004) - Executive producer