VH1 Names Susan Levison Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production

NEW YORK, Aug. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan Levison has been tapped to lead VH1's creative development team as Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production, it was announced today by Tom Calderone, President, VH1 to whom she will report.

Based in Los Angeles, Levison will oversee all current VH1 original programming and development for both of the East and West coasts as well as celebrity talent development.

Levison comes to VH1 having generated multiple successes as a producer and an executive in a variety of reality and scripted formats for national broadcast and cable television networks including FOX, Bravo, TruTV, VH1 and Yahoo.  Levison's appointment comes as VH1 posts a strong summer in primetime ratings fueled by "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta," the #1 cable reality series of the summer among adults 18-49, and "Hit The Floor," currently this summer's #1 new scripted series on basic cable among adults 18-49 and women 18-49.

"Susan's proven expertise in crafting engaging stories with strong characters in reality formats and scripted dramas and comedies makes her a perfect match for VH1 and our successful mix of music, pop culture, humor and nostalgia programming," said Calderone.  "Susan is a highly respected and successful executive having earned a stellar reputation in the creative community with both talent and producers, and we're happy to welcome her to the VH1 family." 

Levison joins VH1 from FishBowl Worldwide Media where she was Executive Vice President, Head of Creative Affairs.  In the three years since the company's creation, Levison and her team sold unscripted reality series to Bravo ("Toned Up"), TruTV ("Upload With Shaquille O'Neal"), Fuse ("Off Beat"), as well as VH1 for its hit series "I'm Married To A…"  In addition, Levison executive produced "Ultimate Surprises," a digital series which ran for three seasons on Yahoo.  She also sold scripted projects to NBC, MTV, the CW and Comedy Central among others.  

Previously, Levison served as Senior Vice President, Comedy Development for the FOX Broadcasting Company, supervising the network's comedy development efforts and working as the company's key creative liaison with studios, writers and production executives.  She oversaw development of the hit animated series "The Cleveland Show" from "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane as well as "Bob's Burgers" from creator Loren Bouchard. 

Prior to that, Levison was Vice President, Drama Development at FOX, where she was involved in the creation of the three hit series "House," "Prison Break" and "Bones."  Before that, she was Director of Alternative Programming under Mike Darnell, where she assisted in the development of such FOX series as "American Idol," "Temptation Island" and "The Simple Life."  She was also responsible for several made-for-television movies, including "Bradys In The White House." Levison joined FOX in 1999 as an assistant in the Alternative Programming department. 

In 2004, Levison was named to The Hollywood Reporter's list of "Next Generation" leaders, and in 2006 was named as one of "Twelve Women to Watch" by Broadcasting & Cable Magazine.  She began her career in the TV Literary department at CAA.

Levison earned a Bachelor's degree from Pomona College and a Master's degree in English from Boston University. 

VH1 delivers the ultimate mash-up of music, pop culture and nostalgia for adults who still want to have fun.  VH1 is available in 99 million households in the U.S.  VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile and VH1.com and @VH1, the hub for all things music and pop culture.  VH1 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  For more information, go to www.vh1press.com, VH1.com, or the VH1 Facebook page.  Follow us on Twitter @VH1PR.

SOURCE VH1