Brian Graden

Brian Graden (born March 23, 1963) is an American television executive and founder and CEO of Emmy-winning Brian Graden Media, founded in 2013. Its series include Create Together (Emmy winner), Escape the Night, HitRECord on TV (Emmy winner), Finding Prince Charming, Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding Special, Walk of Shame, Gay Skit Happens, and The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

Graden was previously a senior vice president at Fox Lab, Fox’s alternative programming unit. While there he oversaw shows like COPS and America’s Most Wanted. He also created the relationship show, STUDS. In 1997, he became MTV’s executive VP of programming, and was put in charge of all programming. This was a change for MTV, as the network previously had four programming executives. In 2002, he was promoted to president of programming for MTV and MTV2. Later that year, after being asked to assess a struggling VH1, he was named President of Entertainment, MTV and VH1. He was responsible for the programming strategy and development slate for VH1, and the creative and business developments of MTV, MTV2, CMT, and eventually Logo, which was launched in 2005 as the first 24 hour gay and lesbian network with Graden as president.

As President of Entertainment, Graden oversaw and/or greenlit shows like Total Request Live, The Osbournes, Jackass, Jersey Shore, and Teen Moms for MTV; Best Week Ever and I Love the 80s for VH1; and RuPaul’s Drag Race for Logo.

Prior to his work with MTV, Graden worked with Trey Parker and Matt Stone as an executive producer of the hit animated series South Park.

Early life and education Graden grew up in Hillsboro, Illinois, and America's Most Wanted. This led to the hit video “Jesus vs. Santa.” It was picked up by Comedy Central. Under the role, Graden was responsible for all of MTV’s programming.

In 2001, MTV partnered with groups including the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to run a campaign that examined hate crimes. The campaign included using 17 hours of air time to run a scroll listing the names of hundreds of victims of hate crimes. He was responsible for creative content on all platforms, and oversaw music, news and specials, production, talent and artist relations, animation, scheduling, and series development. Graden was also president of Logo. He has also been named one of the most influential executives in reality programming.

Brian Graden Media In 2009, Graden announced he was stepping down as the president of entertainment at MTV Networks in order to focus on writing a musical, Limbo, and two books. The company’s original works have aired on Oxygen, Logo, YouTube, Netflix, and other networks. This includes Finding Prince Charming (Logo), Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding Special (E!), Walk of Shame (VH1), The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway (Oxygen), and Gay Skit Happens (Logo).

BGM’s show HitRECord on TV, which was created, hosted, and directed by Joseph Gordon Levitt, has been nominated for Emmys twice, and won an Emmy in 2014, and the program Create Together won an Emmy in 2020.

In November 2021, BGM signed TikTok stars Robert Reeves, Mick Peterson, Bill Lyons, and Jessay Martin, to develop a docuseries about their lives. It will combine original performances, interviews, archival materials, and backstage vérité footage while exploring themes such as “comedy as activism, diversity in stand-up, new queer culture, and mainstreaming the alternative.”

MTV:

Boiling Points Celebrity Death Match Cribs Jackass Jersey Shore Next Teen Mom The Hills The Osbournes Total Request Live (TRL)

I Love the 80s

Logo:

RuPaul’s Drag Race (moved to VH1 in 2017)

Brian Graden Media:

Create Together - Emmy winner Escape the Night Finding Prince Charming Gay Skit Happens The GLAAD Media Vito Russo Award for Excellence in Media

Graden and Logo TV received the 2018 Media Award.