Susie Lewis

Susie Lewis is an American Emmy-winning television producer, writer, and creative executive based in Los Angeles, best known for co-creating and producing the MTV animated series Daria.^[1]
Lewis graduated from Temple University with a degree in television and film, where she developed an early interest in MTV by doodling the network's logos in her notebooks, which inspired her career path.^[2]
She began her professional career at MTV after securing an internship in New York, where she contributed to music video selection for Beavis and Butt-Head and served as additional crew on the animated series Æon Flux.^[3] Alongside writer Glenn Eichler, Lewis co-developed and executive-produced the first three seasons of Daria, which premiered in 1997 and ran for five seasons, becoming one of MTV's highest-rated animated shows and a cultural touchstone for its satirical take on teenage life.^[4]^[1]
She also developed, voice-directed, and cast other MTV cult classics, including The Head and The Maxx.^[4]
Later in her career, Lewis co-executive-produced the Disney XD gaming series Player Select, which aired 72 episodes over three seasons and ranked as the network's top gaming show.^[4] As supervising producer for the syndicated nature docuseries Sea Rescue, Lewis helped create content focused on wildlife rescue stories, earning a Daytime Emmy Award in 2016 for Outstanding Children's Series.^[4]^[5]
Her work spans animated and live-action formats, emphasizing storytelling that resonates across broadcast and digital media.^[1]

Early life and education

Early life

Susie Lewis grew up in a predominantly white suburban environment, attending a high school with approximately 600 students that included only one African American classmate. This experience shaped her early awareness of social isolation and the pressures of fitting in during adolescence, themes that would later inform her work in television storytelling.^[6] As a young viewer, Lewis was drawn to sarcastic, relatable female characters in popular television shows, such as Darlene from Roseanne, fostering her passion for narratives that captured the complexities of youth and identity. These influences sparked her creative interests in writing and media production, motivating her eventual pursuit of higher education in related fields.^[6]

Education

Susie Lewis attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she pursued studies related to television and film. During her time on campus, she demonstrated an early passion for media by doodling MTV logos in her notebooks, and a classmate's encouragement to apply for an internship at the network ignited her entry into the television industry.^[2]^[7] She later transferred and graduated from the New York Institute of Technology in New York City with a Bachelor of Arts in Television and Film.^[2]^[7]

Professional career

Early career

Susie Lewis entered the television industry in the mid-1990s through an internship at MTV Animation in New York, where she began assisting on the production of the animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. Her initial responsibilities included selecting music videos to feature in the show's commentary segments, a core element of its satirical format that blended animation with real-world music content. In 1995, Lewis was promoted to co-producer on Beavis and Butt-Head, overseeing the music video portions across multiple episodes of the series.^[8] In this role, she handled key aspects of content development, such as licensing videos, scripting the characters' humorous reactions, and coordinating the integration of these segments into the episodes.^[9] These tasks honed her expertise in production coordination within the fast-paced environment of animated satire at MTV.^[10] Through her work on Beavis and Butt-Head, Lewis developed foundational skills in managing creative and logistical elements of television production, which positioned her for expanded responsibilities in animation.

Daria

Susie Lewis collaborated with Glenn Eichler to co-create Daria, an animated spin-off from the MTV series Beavis and Butt-Head that shifted focus to a sharp-witted female protagonist and targeted a teenage girl audience through its satirical exploration of high school cliques, family dynamics, and societal expectations. The series debuted on MTV on March 3, 1997, and aired for five seasons, comprising 65 episodes in total, concluding on January 21, 2002. Lewis drew on her earlier MTV animation experience to help shape the show's distinctive voice, emphasizing irony and social commentary over the crude humor of its predecessor.^[11]^[12] As producer for the first three seasons from 1997 to 1999, Lewis oversaw the development and execution of the initial 39 episodes, ensuring the series maintained its clever tone while navigating production challenges in MTV's fast-paced environment. She contributed to writing several episodes, helping refine character arcs and dialogue that captured the alienation of smart, unconventional teens, and also lent her voice to Andrea, the recurring goth student at Lawndale High whose deadpan demeanor echoed the show's overall cynicism. Her leadership in these early seasons established Daria as a critical and ratings success, solidifying its place as one of MTV's highest-rated original animated programs.^[2]^[13]^[14] Daria's cultural impact was profound, offering a feminist-leaning counterpoint to mainstream teen media by celebrating intellectual detachment and subtle rebellion, which resonated deeply with its intended demographic. In a 1999 New York Times article, critic Anita Gates praised the titular character as "the epitome of suburban teen-age outsider irony," highlighting the series' role in giving voice to disillusioned youth navigating conformity and ambition. The show's enduring significance lies in its influence on portrayals of female sarcasm and autonomy in animation, earning acclaim for transforming a minor Beavis and Butt-Head character into an icon of 1990s adolescent satire.^[15]^[16]

Later career

Following the success of her earlier animated projects, Susie Lewis transitioned into diverse production roles across live-action documentary series and gaming content in the 2000s and 2010s. In 2002, she served as executive producer for two episodes of Portal, a studio-based series on G4 that explored video game culture and industry news.^[17] This marked her entry into gaming-related media, where she oversaw production elements for the short-lived program.^[9] Lewis later took on supervising producer duties for educational wildlife programming, notably Sea Rescue, a syndicated docuseries hosted by journalist Matt Gutman that highlighted marine animal rescues, rehabilitations, and releases at SeaWorld facilities. Airing from 2014 to 2021, the series spanned 63 episodes under her oversight, emphasizing conservation narratives and earning her a Daytime Emmy Award for her production leadership.^[4] She also contributed to related environmental content, broadening her focus to non-fiction formats that combined storytelling with public education. In parallel, Lewis co-executive produced Player Select, a Disney XD animated clip show featuring gameplay highlights from popular video games, which delivered 72 episodes across three seasons from 2017 to 2020 and became the network's top-rated gaming series.^[4] Her role involved close collaboration with post-production teams to curate engaging, youth-oriented content.^[9] In recent years, Lewis has continued her multifaceted career in animation and live-action media. In December 2024, she joined Voyage Media as an executive producer, where she develops and crafts projects aimed at resonant storytelling in broadcast and digital spaces.^[4] As of 2025, she remains active in producing hybrid animated and live-action content, leveraging her experience to lead innovative programming initiatives.^[1]

Awards and recognition

Daytime Emmy Awards

Susie Lewis earned a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Series in 2016 for her role as supervising producer on the syndicated nature docuseries Sea Rescue. The program, which highlights real-life wildlife rescues and conservation efforts, was nominated alongside competitors including Annedroids, Odd Squad, Project MC², and The Wildlife Docs. Lewis's contributions to the series' production helped secure the win in this category at the 43rd Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, held on April 29 and 30, 2016, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Los Angeles.^[18]

Other honors

In recognition of her pivotal role in co-creating Daria, Susie Lewis was featured prominently in major media retrospectives on the series' enduring legacy. A 2017 Variety article commemorating the show's 20th anniversary featured Lewis as co-creator, quoting her on the establishment of MTV's animation department.^[19] That same year, Vice's oral history of Daria emphasized Lewis's influence in adding cultural "hipness" to the series, drawing from her background producing music videos for Beavis and Butt-Head and her involvement in early character development and voice casting.^[7]

Filmography and selected works

Production credits

Lewis began her production career at MTV Animation, serving as co-producer on the animated series Beavis and Butt-Head, where she oversaw the production of music video commentary segments.^[9]^[8]^[2] She advanced to producer on the spin-off series Daria from 1997 to 1999, managing the first three seasons comprising 39 episodes and contributing to its development as co-creator.^[9]^[14] In 2002, Lewis took on the role of executive producer for the studio series Portal on G4, handling production for select episodes focused on video game content.^[9]^[17] Lewis served as development producer and casting producer on the animated series The Maxx (1995) and as development producer on Æon Flux (1991–1995).^[9] Later in her career, she co-executive produced the Disney XD gaming series Player Select (2017–2020), which aired 96 episodes over three seasons.^[9]^[4]^[20] She served as supervising producer on the documentary series Sea Rescue from 2014 to 2021, overseeing 63 episodes that highlighted marine animal rescues and conservation efforts.^[9]^[4]

Writing and voice credits

Susie Lewis co-created the MTV animated series Daria alongside Glenn Eichler and contributed to its writing, helping develop the pilot episode "Sealed with a Kick" and overall narrative structure that satirized teenage social dynamics.^[7] As part of the creative team, she influenced key episodes, including advocating for the musical format in season 3's "Daria!" and shaping character arcs in "Road Worrier" and "Monster."^[21] Her writing emphasized themes of self-acceptance and family relationships, drawing from personal experiences to add authenticity to the show's dialogue and storylines.^[7] Lewis also provided voice acting for minor characters in Daria's first three seasons, notably portraying Andrea, the token goth classmate who appeared in episodes like "Esteemsters" and "Cafe Disaffecto," offering brief but memorable insights into outsider perspectives.^[13] These roles complemented her hands-on involvement in voice development, where she collaborated with actors to refine characterizations for figures like Jane Lane and Quinn Morgendorffer.^[7] Prior to Daria, Lewis worked on Beavis and Butt-Head, contributing to script development from 1994 to 1997.^[22] She also served as voice director for the series, guiding performances to match the show's irreverent tone.^[22]^[9] Lewis served as voice director and casting producer for the MTV animated series The Head (1994–1995).^[9] In later projects, Lewis wrote for the Pivot talk show TakePart Live, contributing scripts to all 100 episodes in 2013, focusing on social issues and celebrity discussions.^[3] Her writing extended to educational animation like Sea Rescue, where she shaped content on wildlife conservation, though primarily in a production capacity.^[9]