New York, NY — May 7, 2018 — BuzzFeed today named Lauren Dolgen, a veteran creative executive with more than 20-years experience across MTV and Vice, as Head of BuzzFeed Studios. In her role, Dolgen will oversee development of original productions for BuzzFeed partners across TV, SVOD, and film, as well as the company’s growing slate of original digital series. She’ll be responsible for creating and developing series concepts drawing from IP and talent from across BuzzFeed, including BuzzFeed News and its lifestyle portfolio under BuzzFeed Media Brands. Dolgen will be based in Los Angeles and report to Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO of BuzzFeed.
“Lauren’s fun, irreverent sensibility, her great eye for talent, and her obsession with pop culture make her the perfect fit for BuzzFeed. Her track record and relationships are incredibly strong, and I’m excited to work with her to capture the opportunity with our Studio business and expand what we can do creatively across all platforms,” said Peretti.
“I am excited about the endless creative possibilities at Buzzfeed, and I have huge respect for its teams creating tons of great content every day — from news to entertainment to the glorious food porn to, of course, the quizzes that I can’t get enough of. I love that it’s a place that is playful, but doesn’t shy away from the issues important to its audience. It’s an extraordinary world to dive into and I’m grateful to Jonah for giving me a shot to build on the work of its amazing people,” said Dolgen.
As Head of BuzzFeed Studios, Dolgen will oversee all original series and theatrical development for the global digital media company. Notable current BuzzFeed productions include live morning show “AM to DM” for Twitter; interactive dating series “RelationShipped” for Facebook; BuzzFeed News’s recently announced “Follow This” for Netflix; and feature film “Brother Orange” in development with Warner Bros. Dolgen will also oversee efforts to significantly increase the company’s slate of original digital series, including hits “Worth It,” “Ladylike,” and “BuzzFeed Unsolved.” Original digital series are a fast-growing driver of revenue for the company, with time spent for BuzzFeed video on YouTube growing 55% YoY in the first quarter of 2018.
Most recently, Dolgen served as Head of West Coast Development for Viceland, overseeing West Coast-based production and development for the joint venture between Vice Media and A+E Networks. In her role, she was responsible for overseeing current series including “Hate Thy Neighbor,” a co-production with Vice UK which in its second, most recent series examined extremist groups in the U.S. Dolgen was also tasked with developing internal concepts, collaborated with external production partners, and working closely on projects with Vice’s international offices across Australia, Canada and the UK.
Prior to joining Viceland, Dolgen served as Executive Vice President, Series Development and Head of Unscripted Programming at MTV — the culmination of a nearly 20-year career with the global youth network in which she oversaw some of its most influential series. Most notably, Dolgen oversaw the creation and production of the “16 and Pregnant” / “Teen Mom” franchise — pitching the concept after reading an article on teen pregnancy — which is among the most long-running and successful series in the network’s history. The franchise is credited with helping to lower the teen birth rate by one-third in the 18 months post launch and, most recent data from the CDC cites a 46% teen birth rate decline since the series premiered. In additional, Dolgen oversaw numerous long-running hit series for the network, including Rob Dyrdek’s “Ridiculousness,” “Are You The One?,” “America’s Best Dance Crew,” and “The Real World.”
Dolgen began her career at MTV upon graduating college, quickly working her way up as a development executive through her work on classic MTV series including “Jackass,” “True Life,” “Rob and Big,” “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory,” “Viva La Bam,” and “Wildboyz.”
About BuzzFeed:
BuzzFeed is the world’s leading tech-powered media company, with a cross-platform news and entertainment network that reaches hundreds of millions of people globally. The company produces articles, lists, quizzes, videos, original series; lifestyle content through BuzzFeed Media Brands including Tasty, the world’s largest social food network; original reporting and investigative journalism through BuzzFeed News; and BuzzFeed Commerce, which develops social commerce products and experiences, as well as licensing and other strategic partnerships.
Download headshot here (Credit: Andie Kallinger)
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Press Contact:
Juliana Clifton / juliana.clifton@buzzfeed.com